In Brief:
The Bombay High Court has allowed the anti-corruption probe into the alleged ₹5 crore bribery involving L&T and Cognizant to continue.
L&T’s request to quash the FIR was rejected, as the company is not yet named as an accused.
ACB investigation is ongoing in Pune; prior court approval will be needed before file charge-sheet against L&T.
Pune, 30 July 2025: The Bombay High Court has ruled that the investigation into the ₹5 crore bribery case linked to the construction of Cognizant’s Hinjawadi office in Pune will continue. The order came while rejecting a petition filed by construction giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which had sought to quash the FIR filed in the case.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is probing allegations that L&T officials paid bribes to government officers to secure environmental and planning clearances for the office project. The bribe, reportedly amounting to $770,000 (approximately ₹5 crore at the time), was allegedly given to officials from both departments.
Although L&T is not yet named as an accused in the FIR, the Pune Sessions Court had, on April 19, 2024, directed the ACB to conduct an inquiry under Section 156(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code. L&T had challenged this order as well in the High Court.
Hearing the petition, the bench of Justice A.S. Gadkari and Justice Rajesh S. Patil stated that the investigation must go on. However, the court also made it clear that before any charge-sheet is filed against L&T or it is formally made an accused, prior permission from the court must be obtained.
Former Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, along with advocates Pratik Rajopadhye and Ameya Ranade, opposed L&T’s plea on behalf of the original complainant. They argued that since L&T is not named in the FIR, there is no basis for seeking to quash it. The state prosecutor also supported this argument.
Senior advocates Amit Desai and Abad Ponda, appearing for L&T, stated that they were also contesting the Pune court’s directive for an ACB probe. However, the High Court upheld the need for continued investigation, with a safeguard that any move to name L&T as an accused must first pass judicial scrutiny.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for August 20.