Disproportionate Assets Case: ACB Special Court Rejects Bail Plea of Former Anand Additional Collector Ketaki Vyas
Ahmedabad: The ACB Special Court has rejected the bail application of Ketaki Vyas, former Additional Collector of Anand, in a disproportionate assets case involving Rs 3.56 crore. While rejecting the bail plea of the applicant, RAC Ketaki Vyas, the court observed that financial and illegal property offences directly damage public trust in government machinery and have a wide-ranging impact on society. Despite being a responsible Class-1 officer well-versed in revenue law, the applicant had stayed away from the ACB investigation. Given this conduct, the possibility of her fleeing during trial cannot be ruled out if released on bail. Since the income and investment documents submitted by the applicant did not bear the signature or seal of either the applicant or a Chartered Accountant, their authenticity cannot presently be accepted. All arguments, the court noted, can only be decided at the conclusion of the trial.
Court Declines to Exercise Discretionary Powers
The court further noted that custodial interrogation of the accused woman by police is necessary for a proper investigation into properties purchased at various locations and bank account transactions. It held that the facts of the legal judgments cited by the applicant differ from the circumstances of this case and therefore do not assist her. Since there is prima facie evidence of the accused woman’s involvement in the offence and the investigation is ongoing, the court declined to exercise its discretionary powers in her favour.
Investigation Ongoing, Chargesheet Yet to Be Filed
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had registered a case against former Additional Collector Ketaki Vyas for allegedly amassing assets worth over Rs 3.56 crore in excess of her known sources of income, in her own name as well as in the names of relatives. To avoid arrest by the ACB, she reportedly evaded the investigation for a long period by not appearing before the agency. She had filed anticipatory bail applications in the Sessions Court and the High Court, both of which were rejected, following which she was arrested by CID Crime. The investigation is currently at a sensitive stage, and the chargesheet has yet to be filed.
Ketaki Vyas Claims She Is Innocent, Alleges She Has Been Falsely Implicated
In her bail application, Ketaki Vyas submitted that she is innocent, has been falsely implicated, and that no prima facie case is made out against her. She stated that the complaint was registered nearly two years and eight months after prior investigation sanction was granted. Her parents reside in Viramgam and have their own separate income and investments, she said. Her husband is a police employee, and his documented income of approximately Rs 89 lakh during the investigation period has not been taken into account, she argued. She further contended that the 68.84% figure calculated by the ACB is based on an erroneous, imaginary statistical calculation derived from market valuations.
The government pleader submitted that the accused woman faces a serious offence of possessing disproportionate assets. The applicant had failed to appear before the ACB for a prolonged period. Custodial interrogation, the prosecution argued, was necessary for proper investigation into properties purchased at various locations and related bank account transactions. On these grounds, the prosecution urged that the bail application be rejected in the interest of justice.
Honey-Trap and Hidden Camera Scandal Controversy
Ketaki Vyas had previously been at the centre of major controversy during her tenure as RAC in Anand district. In a case involving a hidden camera allegedly installed in the office of then Anand Collector D.S. Gadhvi, police had taken action against her and then Deputy Mamlatdar J.D. Patel, among others. The case involved allegations of honey-trapping and blackmailing government officials, which subsequently led the ACB to launch an in-depth investigation into Vyas’s income and assets.
According to the ACB, Vyas is accused of holding assets worth Rs 3.56 crore in excess of her legitimate income (68.84% more than her legitimate income) during the period from 2012 to 2023. The agency has alleged that Ketaki Vyas misused her position as a government employee to invest illegally obtained funds in movable and immovable properties in her own name and in the names of family members. She had remained absconding for a long period after the case was registered.