A special Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court in the city on Thursday granted bail to a headmaster and his aide on grounds that the accused were produced before the court beyond the 24-hour legal limit following their arrest.

Somnath Bhawale (52), a resident of Vasant Vihar on Beed Bypass, heads the country’s first ISO-certified zilla parishad primary school in Satara area. According to ACB, Bhawale demanded a bribe of Rs 20,000 through Ganesh Kothimbire (26), an honorary computer operator at the school, for sanctioning a woman teacher’s earned leave. Kothimbire hails from Satara area.

Based on a complaint by the teacher, ACB laid a trap at the school on Wednesday. The teacher, acting on Bhawale’s instructions, handed over the money to Kothimbire, who was caught red-handed by an ACB team. Bhawale was also taken into custody the same day. ACB seized Rs 20,000 in cash and two mobile phones from the two accused.

Representing the duo, advocate Nilesh Ghanekar said they were presented before the court at 4pm on Thursday, more than 24 hours after their detention at 2.54pm on Wednesday. He argued that their detention was illegal because they were not produced before a magistrate within the stipulated time frame of 24 hours, as cited in a recent Bombay High Court ruling in Hanumant Jagannath Nazirkar vs State of Maharashtra, where similar grounds were upheld.

Madhuri Kedar-Kangne, superintendent of police, ACB, through additional public prosecutor D R Kathule, sought three days’ police custody for the accused to examine voice recordings and call data records.

Additional sessions judge A S Wairagade while granting bail to the accused duo said, “Perusal of case diary reveals that the accused were taken into custody at 2.54pm on Sept 10 and produced before this court on Sept 11 at 4pm, which was beyond 24 hours. Therefore the arrest of accused is illegal and both accused are at liberty forthwith on their executing PR bond of Rs 50,000 each.”

Ghanekar told TOI: “Law says as soon as a person’s liberty is curtailed through means of detention or arrest, they should be produced before a court of law within 24 hours. Anything beyond that is illegal detention.”

Kedar-Kangne could not be reached for her comments.