In a striking crackdown on alleged corruption at the heart of the tax system, the Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a senior Income Tax official along with four others in a bribery case involving ₹70 lakh. The arrests, which took place across multiple cities, have sent ripples through administrative corridors.
Jeevan Lal Lavidiya, a 2004-batch officer from the Indian Revenue Service currently serving as Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) in Hyderabad, was taken into custody by CBI officers. According to the investigation agency, Lavidiya was accused of accepting a hefty bribe in return for settling a tax appeal in favour of a prominent private group.
Joining him in the list of arrested were Viral Kantilal Mehta, Deputy General Manager of Taxation at the same company; Sairam Palisetty, Natta Veera Naga Sri Ram Gopal, and Sajida Majhar Hussain Shah. Officials said Shah was allegedly caught in the act of delivering the bribe on Lavidiya’s behalf.
Lavidiya also held charge of Appeals Unit 7 and 8 under the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax in Hyderabad. The CBI revealed that he was working in collaboration with intermediaries and was suspected of favouring private parties whose appeal cases were awaiting judgment.
A formal complaint was registered against Lavidiya and 14 other individuals and entities. As the agency stated, the accused officer was allegedly involved “in connivance with middlemen… in corrupt and illegal activities of obtaining undue gratification for extending illegal favours.”
The breakthrough came when a well-planned trap led to the seizure of ₹70 lakh during the act of bribery in Mumbai. Following this, the CBI arrested Lavidiya and the others from Hyderabad. Searches carried out in cities including Mumbai, New Delhi, Khammam, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad led to the discovery of an additional ₹69 lakh in unaccounted cash.
All five individuals were presented before special CBI courts in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. There has been no public comment yet from the corporate group linked to the case.
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