CBI court awards its inspector 5-yr jail: ‘graft by public servants has reached monsterous stage'
Sentencing a CBI inspector to five years in jail for extorting a 'new Honda City car' from a company in 2016, the special CBI Court of Chandigarh on Saturday said that 'corruption by public servants has reached such monsterous stage that the institutions which have been created for the purpose of serving the public are thwarting the very purpose of the same'.
The court added that by virtue of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 'all public servants are warned that the corrupt will have to face serious consequences'.
The convict — Ravinder Kumar Singla, a CBI Inspector, was held guilty under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, section 13 (1) (d) (ii) punishable under section 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and section 384 (extortion) of Indian Penal Code, by the Court of Alka Malik, Additional District and Sessions Judge, Special CBI Court, Chandigarh.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the convict.
The Court has already acquitted accused Paramjit Singh from all charges.
As the matter came up for quantum of sentence on Saturday, Ravinder Kumar Singla by virtue of his separate statement reduced to writing urged that he has impeccable record of service except the present case.
He is not a previous convict and has the liability to maintain his family including wife, minor children and aged parents, thus praying for a lenient view.
Narender Singh, Public Prosecutor for CBI argued that the convict who was an Inspector in CBI has misused his official position to such an extent that he has extorted Honda City car in question from complainant company, which deals in pharmaceuticals.
'His behaviour is a stark reminder of the corrosive influence of corruption and the dangers of unchecked power. Therefore, to uphold the rule of law and ensure that those who abuse their position of trust are held accountable, the convict should be dealt with sternly and he is not entitled to any kind of leniency. In fact, he has undermined the premier institution the Central Bureau of Investigation, which he was serving by indulging in corrupt practices. Therefore, he deserves strict punishment to deter like-minded public servants,' he argued.
The CBI Judge on hearing the arguments held that 'It shall be absolutely relevant to mention here that corruption by public servants has reached such monsterous stage that the institutions which have been created for the purpose of serving the public are thwarting the very purpose of the same. Corruption by public servants is in fact paralysing the functioning of the public institutions, thereby hindering the very democratic polity of the State.'
Citing different judgements of the Supreme Court, he said, '…the magnitude of corruption in our country has led to economic rest. It is the rampant corruption indulged in with impunity by highly placed persons that has led to this situation. If one is asked to name one sole factor that effectively arrest the progress of our society to prosperity, undeniably it is corruption. In fact, corruption erodes the fundamental tenets of the rule of law. Corruption is an enemy of the nation and tracking down corrupt public servants and punishing such persons is a necessary mandate of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. By virtue of this act, all public servants are warned that corrupt public servants have to face very serious consequences.'
The court said that 'convict while working as inspector in the CBI has indulged in corrupt practices and had extorted a brand new Honda City car in question from the officials of the complainant company. He was daring enough to force them for transfer to its ownership in his name or in his relative's name, Though, at that juncture, the officials of the complainant company refused to succumb to his pressure and initiated the criminal law into motion by filing the instant complaint. However, the convict has shown utmost disregard to the principles of honesty and fair play, which is expected from a public servant. Therefore, he deserves to be punished to deter like minded public servants to curb the menace of corruption.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
31 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Actor Dino Morea appears before ED over Mithi river desilting case
Bollywood actor Dino Morea on Thursday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here in connection with a money laundering probe linked to an alleged Rs 65 crore Mithi river desilting scam, officials said. Morea, who had been summoned by the ED for questioning, reached the federal agency's office at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai at around 10.30 am, an official said. The ED on June 6 conducted searches at more than 15 locations in Mumbai, and Kochi in Kerala, including the premises of Dino Morea in Bandra (West) area here, those linked to his brother Santino, some Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, and contractors among others, official sources earlier said. The searches were conducted in Kochi as one of the companies that provided desilting equipment to the BMC -- Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd -- is based in this city, they said. The investigation is being conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources had said. The ED case stems from a Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) FIR filed in May against 13 persons, including contractors and civic officials, for an alleged Rs 65.54 crore scam in tenders awarded from 2017-2023 for desilting of the Mithi river which flows through Mumbai and acts as a stormwater drainage channel for the metro city. The Uddhav Thackeray-led undivided Shiv Sena controlled the cash-rich BMC from 1997 till the party's split in 2022. After the expiry of the general body in 2022, the civic body was controlled by the state government, which was then headed by Eknath Shinde. It was alleged by the police in its complaint that BMC officials tailored the tender for the desilting contract in such a way that it benefited a particular supplier of machinery, and the contractors reportedly generated fraudulent bills for transporting the sludge out of Mumbai. The 49-year-old actor and his brother were questioned by the Mumbai Police EOW in this case last month also. The Morea brothers, it is understood, were questioned by the police about their alleged links with alleged middleman Ketan Kadam, arrested in the case along with another accused, Jai Joshi, apart from some financial transactions made in a company linked to Santino. Kadam and Joshi, according to police, were involved in the renting out of 'silt pusher' machines and multi-purpose amphibious pontoon machines to contractors who were carrying out Mithi river desilting work. In 2021, the ED had attached Morea's assets as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged bank fraud case against Gujarat-based pharmaceutical company Sterling Biotech and its promoters. The plan to desilt the river was planned by the Mumbai civic authorities following the 2005 floods, which brought the city to a grinding halt.
New Indian Express
34 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Orissa HC grants bail to 23 in WhatsApp trading fraud
CUTTACK: In a high-value financial scam case, the Orissa High Court has granted regular bail to 23 persons accused of being involved in laundering defrauded funds through their bank accounts. The scam surfaced with a retired person lodging a complaint that he was duped of Rs 6.28 crore after being added to a WhatsApp group named as an Investment Club, administered by a person using a US number. Posing as investment advisors, the group lured him with daily stock discussions and fake IPO deals. Falling for the fictitious profits, he invested his retirement corpus into shares of a fake company and was shown massive gains. However, repeated demands for hefty service charges and withdrawal fees led to further losses. Finally, he was removed from the group, the app was deactivated, and no funds were returned. Acting on the complaint, the state CID-Crime Branch's cyber police station in Cuttack registered an FIR on August 24, 2024, and arrested 23 persons in connection with the fraud. The vacation court took up the bail petitions of the 23 accused on Monday following the Supreme Court's direction on May 30 to the high court to consider them on June 9 and decide them expeditiously. One of the accused had sought the SC's intervention against the delay in adjudication on the bail pleas f i led in December and thereafter.
NDTV
37 minutes ago
- NDTV
Thane Investment Firm Accused Of Cheating 78 Investors Of Rs 3.7 Crore
Thane: Thane police have registered a case against eight individuals associated with an investment firm for allegedly cheating 78 investors of Rs 3.7 crore after promising them high returns, officials said on Thursday. The firm opened its office in Dombivli area of Maharashtra's Thane district some years back and began marketing various investment schemes which promised lucrative interest rates. The accused, including partners and employees of the firm, lured people to invest money for good returns, an official The victims invested money in the firm's schemes between 2021 and 2022. "The accused issued certificates to investors, acknowledging their investments and promising attractive returns. However, after receiving the funds, they failed to deliver the agreed interest and also did not return the principal amount to the investors," the official said. One of the 78 victims subsequently lodged a police complaint on behalf of the group. The police on Tuesday registered an FIR against eight persons associated with the firm under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, and provisions of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, the official said. "We are currently probing the case. As of now, no arrest has been made, but all the accused have been identified and we are verifying the financial trail. Action will be taken as per law once we complete the preliminary inquiry," the official added.
