Court sentences former junior engineer to 7 years jail for DoB tampering
Srinagar, Oct 23: A Pulwama Court on Thursday sentenced a former Junior Engineer of the Rural Development Department to seven years imprisonment after convicting him for tampering with his date of birth in service records by five years.
By the manipulation, the convict Sonaullah Wani had overstayed his government service by 21 months from June 1998, his actual retirement date.
Besides awarding seven years of Jail to Wani, the Special Judge Anti-Corruption Pulwama, Dr Noor Mohammad Mir imposed Rs 3,52,760 fine on him after convicting him for various offences.
Following a complaint, the erstwhile Vigilance Organisation of Kashmir (VoK), now Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), had registered a case in 2000, according to the prosecution.
As part of the investigation, the VoK sent Wani’s matriculation certificate to the J&K Board of School Education for verification. The Board confirmed his actual Date of Birth as June 8, 1940, instead of June 8, 1945.
The Service Book of the former JE was also sent to Jammu and Kashmir Forensic Science Laboratory, Srinagar and the report of which confirmed that its first page had been torn off and fresh one tagged.
All the entries including Date of Birth entry were found to be fictitious, which have been made by Wani under his own hand, the prosecution said.
The investigation had revealed that the JE caused wrongful loss to the state exchequer to the tune of Rs 2,62,760 by his overstay in the department fraudulently for 21 months beyond his actual date of retirement that is 30 June 30, 1998. The JE’s salary was stopped in April 2000.
After completing the investigation, the VoK in 2003 filed chargesheet in the court against the former JE for the offences punishable under sections 5 (2) Prevention of Corruption Act 2006 and various sections- 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable documents) and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) of the erstwhile RPC.
After hearing Special Public Prosecutor (Chief Prosecuting Officer) Khursheed Ahmad Khursheed Ahmad and counsel for accused besides weighing evidence, the court held Wani guilty for the commission of offences punishable under section 420, 467, 471 RPC and 5 (2) of J&K Prevention of Corruption Act Svt. 2006.
The convicted person as a public servant, forged official documents to illegitimately siphon off public money (salary) and occupy a public post for which he was not eligible, the court noted as it awarded punishment on the JE.
The court noted the act as a form of corruption and fraud on the system, saying it was not a trivial or victimless crime.
However, considering the advanced age of Wani, the court sentenced the former JE to simple imprisonment for seven years and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 for the offence under Section 467 of RPC. In default of payment of fine, the convict would undergo simple imprisonment for a further six months.
For an offence under Section 471 RPC, Wani was sentenced to simple imprisonment for five years and a fine of RS 20,000. In default of fine, he would undergo simple imprisonment for three months further.
Moreover, for the offence under Section 420 RPC, the ex-JE was awarded simple imprisonment for five years and a fine of Rs 20,000 was imposed on him. In default of fine, he would undergo further simple imprisonment for three months.
“For offence under Section 5(2) J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, Svt. 2006 the convict is sentenced to simple imprisonment for three years and a fine of Rs 2,62,760,” the court said.
“The fine amount for this offence is set equivalent to the quantified wrongful gain derived by the convict (Rs 2,62,760) so as to make reparations for the loss caused to the State exchequer. In default of payment of this fine, the convict shall undergo simple imprisonment for a further six (6) months,” it added.
The court ordered that all the substantive sentences of imprisonment shall run concurrently, saying the effective term of imprisonment shall thus be seven years.
