Mumbai, Aug. 7 -- The Bombay high court recently lifted an interim stay it had granted on a corruption investigation against employees of Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T),Cognizant Technology Solutions, and government officials, observing that the complaint was not filed against the infrastructure company but against its employees. A division bench of justices AS Gadkari and Rajesh Patil said in its July 23 order that L&T had not been arraigned as an accused in the case by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Pune. Following the directions of a sessions court in April 2024, the ACB had registered an offence against officials of L&T, Cognizant and unknown government officials in an alleged $770,000 bribery case. The case pertains to allegations that IT consultancy Cognizant, through its contractor L&T, had paid bribes worth $770,000 to government officials between 2013 and 2014 to obtain clearances to build a campus in Pune's Hinjewadi. The case was registered based on a March 2024 complaint filed by Delhi-based activist and retired police officer Prit Pal Singh, citing newspaper reports. The sessions court then directed the ACB to investigate Pal's allegations. However, L&T challenged the order in the Bombay high court. In May 2024, a different bench of the high court granted an interim stay on the investigation, citing a prima facie "jurisdictional error" on the part of the sessions court, among other reasons. L&T had contended that Pal's allegations were "vague, bogus and malafide", adding that they were based on "hearsay evidence". The infrastructure firm also said that it had undertaken the Cognizant project in 2011-12, but Pal had sought an investigation into the case after an "abnormal delay" of over 10 years. However, senior counsel Ashutosh Kumbhakoni and advocate Manoj Badgujar, arguing for Pal, told the court that L&T had not been arraigned as an accused in the case and, hence, its petition seeking the quashing of the FIR was not maintainable. Representing L&T, senior counsel Amit Desai told the court that they were also seeking the quashing of the April 2024 sessions court order directing an investigation into Pal's complaint. On July 23, a division bench of justices Gadkari and Patil directed the investigation of the crime to continue until the next hearing. "...however, in the event the investigating agency intends to implead the petitioner (L&T) as an accused in the final report, it shall not file the said report qua the petitioner without prior leave of this court," it said. The case will be heard further on August 20. When contacted, an L&T spokesperson said, "We will not be able to comment this time." A spokesperson for Cognizant said, "We have no comments to offer. Cognizant is committed to complying with the law in all its jurisdictions of operations and will cooperate with the local authorities, as appropriate."...