India, Nov. 28 -- A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court has rejected the discharge plea of former Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) advisory panel member Sarvesh Ramchandra Jaiswal, one of the accused in a 2014 bribery case in which Rakeshkumar Niti Singh, then chief executive officer of CBFC Mumbai, was allegedly caught accepting a bribe of Rs.70,000 to clear a regional film expeditiously.

Special CBI judge AV Gujarathi held that no prior government sanction was required to prosecute Jaiswal as he had ceased to be a public servant when the court took cognisance of the case in July 2016, nearly two years after his removal from the advisory panel.

According to the prosecution, Singh, Jaiswal and agent Shripati Mi...