The Supreme Court has set aside the anticipatory bail granted to Karnataka IPS officer Srinath Joshi Mahadev, who is accused of involvement in an alleged extortion racket operating under the cover of the Karnataka Lokayukta Police.
A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva observed that allegations of corruption against an officer serving in an anti-corruption establishment warranted particularly serious consideration, given that the Lokayukta was constituted to check corruption in public administration.
The Court pointed out the irony of an official associated with an institution mandated to combat corruption allegedly becoming involved in corrupt activities himself.
“As the very objective of the Lokayuktha’s establishment is to check corruption, the allegation against the respondent to the effect that he is himself a part of such corruption, warranted serious consideration,” the Bench observed.
The order was passed on October 29 while allowing an appeal filed by the Karnataka Lokayukta Police challenging a September 2025 Karnataka High Court order granting anticipatory bail to Mahadev.
Setting aside the High Court’s order, the Supreme Court directed Mahadev to surrender before the appropriate court within three weeks.
The Bench, however, clarified that he would be entitled to seek regular bail thereafter in accordance with law before the competent forum.
The Court observed that the material collected by the investigating agency required a deeper examination and that the High Court was not justified in ruling out the possibility of custodial interrogation by granting pre-arrest protection.
It further noted that Mahadev, being a senior police officer holding the rank of Superintendent of Police, could not claim parity with an ordinary individual seeking protection from arrest and investigation.
The Bench emphasised that the allegations involved a serious accusation of abuse of official position within an institution entrusted with investigating corruption.
The case originates from an FIR registered in June 2025 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
According to the prosecution, Ningappa Savantha, a police constable who had been dismissed from service on account of unauthorised absence, allegedly impersonated an official of the Lokayukta’s office and extorted money from public servants by threatening them with corruption proceedings.
Mahadev was not initially named as an accused in the case. However, his alleged involvement surfaced subsequently on the basis of disclosures made by Savantha during the investigation.
The prosecution alleged that the two were in contact with each other and that Savantha frequently visited the Lokayukta office to meet Mahadev.
These circumstances formed part of the material relied upon by the investigating agency to examine the alleged connection between the IPS officer and the extortion racket.
Before approaching the Supreme Court, Mahadev had twice failed to secure anticipatory bail from the trial court, which rejected his applications in June and July 2025.
He subsequently approached the Karnataka High Court, which granted him pre-arrest protection in September 2025.
While granting relief, the High Court took note of the fact that the officer had appeared before the investigating officer in response to a notice and had not been arrested. It concluded that there was no immediate apprehension of arrest warranting custodial protection.
The Karnataka Lokayukta Police challenged this decision before the Supreme Court, arguing that the nature of the allegations and the evidence collected during the investigation required further examination.
An important aspect placed before the Supreme Court concerned two mobile phones seized from Mahadev during the investigation.
The prosecution informed the Court that the seized devices had allegedly been tampered with and extensively damaged. The forensic examination report concerning the handsets was still awaited when the Karnataka High Court granted anticipatory bail.
Taking note of the material and the need for further investigation, the Supreme Court concluded that the High Court ought not to have foreclosed the possibility of custodial inter
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