In a major crackdown on alleged corruption in the adjudication of tax disputes, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Judicial Member S Sethalakshmi, Jaipur-based advocate Rajendra Sisodia, and an appellant identified as Mujmmel, exposing what it described as a “criminal network” operating to secure favourable orders for monetary gains.
The agency said the arrests were made during a coordinated operation on Tuesday and Wednesday after a case was registered against Sisodia, Sethalakshmi, Assistant Registrar of the ITAT Jaipur Bench, and other unidentified public servants and private individuals. According to the CBI, the network was “indulging in corrupt activities for settling appeals pending before the ITAT, Jaipur Bench, in lieu of bribes.”
The CBI stated that Sisodia was caught on Tuesday in possession of an alleged bribe amount of ₹5.5 lakh, which investigators believe was paid by appellant Mujmmel through a hawala channel. Following Sisodia’s arrest, teams apprehended Sethalakshmi on Wednesday and recovered ₹30 lakh from her official vehicle. The appellant was also taken into custody.
Subsequent searches in Jaipur, Kota and other locations led to the recovery of more than ₹1 crore in cash, along with transaction records, property papers and other material that, officials say, indicate the existence of an organised syndicate facilitating judicial manipulation within the Tribunal.
Troubled history
The latest case adds to the ITAT’s troubled history with corruption scandals. Seventeen years ago, the CBI had arrested an accountant member of the ITAT’s Kolkata Bench for allegedly accepting ₹30 lakh from a chartered accountancy firm in exchange for favourable orders. That investigation had uncovered evidence suggesting that the firm had prior access to draft orders—and in some instances had even prepared them. The CBI had then seized around 14 computer disks containing more than 70 pre-dated draft judgments from various ITAT benches during searches at the firm’s premises.
Concerns over judicial integrity within the Tribunal resurfaced again in 2012, when the CBI initiated a nationwide probe into more than 20 ITAT members across Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, alleging collusion with private intermediaries, including a prominent chartered accountancy firm, to secure beneficial rulings for clients.
The latest arrests, officials said, point to the persistence of entrenched networks capable of influencing quasi-judicial decisions in revenue matters. The investigation is continuing, and more arrests are likely as the agency examines financial trails and digital evidence seized during the raids.
