Scientist absolved of corruption charge levelled by director of Institute of Plasma Research
Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) absolved a scientist with the Institute of Plasma Research (IPR), who was accused by his institute and its director of cheating and corruption.
As the CBI did not find any prosecutable evidence against Subrata Pradhan for the charge of quid pro quo, it filed a closure report in the court last year. The complainant director and the institute did not raise any objection to the CBI's summary, and the special court accepted the report.
After Pradhan approached the Gujarat high court over alleged harassment by his superior, he, along with other colleagues, was accused of criminal conspiracy, cheating, and corruption by the institute's director,
Shashank Chaturvedi
, in 2022.
The CBI booked Pradhan under IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
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In 2024, the CBI filed a closure report in the court stating that while certain procedural lapses were observed, the allegations levelled in the FIR were not proved, and no prosecutable evidence was found against the accused. Specifically, the investigation found no evidence of "quid pro quo" against the officials. The procurement processes were routed through various committees, including the need aspect committee, tender award committee, and senior purchase committee.
The CBI's finding regarding Pradhan's innocence was accepted by IPR's governing council, and Chaturvedi also formally accepted the conclusion and explicitly said that he had no objection to the acceptance of the closure report.
"In view of the detailed investigation carried out by the CBI, the findings of no prosecutable evidence and absence of 'quid pro quo', and the unequivocal consent for acceptance of the closure report from the IPR and the original complainant," the court said while accepting the closure report against the scientist.
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