Former IAS officer gets 1-year jail in 1997 case

Srinagar, Aug 20: A court here on Wednesday sentenced a former IAS officer to one year’s jail and imposed Rs 15 lakh fine on him for amassing disproportionate assets during his service.

The court of Additional Special Judge Anti-Corruption in Srinagar, F H Iqbal, convicted the officer, Habibul Hassan Beigh, a retired IAS officer, who was a member of the special tribunal of the J&K government, in a case registered in 1997.

“It is thus proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused public servant has assets disproportionate to his known source of income by a huge margin of more than 28.00 lac rupees,” the court said, adding, “This amount is huge in the current times also and not to talk of the year 1997 when this amount would have been humongous.”

Accordingly court convicted Beigh for commission of offence u/s 5(1)(e) r/w 5(2) Prevention of Corruption Act Svt. 2006 (1949 A.D).

“The accused has been convicted u/s 5(1)(e) of the P. C. Act which is punishable u/s 5(2) of the Act which provides for a punishment of one to seven years and fine. The two most important mitigating factors while sentencing the accused is a) the accused is a super senior citizen and an octogenarian, b) he has been facing trial for a quarter century past,” the court said, adding, “The hanging sword of law has been upon his head for all this time.”

For these factors, the court sentenced him to one year simple imprisonment and fine of Rs.15 lakh.

The case was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006 read with Section 12/14 of the J&K Public Men and Public Servants Declaration of Assets and other Provisions Act 1983 on April 24, 1997.

The chargesheet of the case was presented on November 13, 2000 for judicial determination, he said.

“The other offence alleged u/s 12/14 of J&K Public Men and Public servants declaration of assets Act 1983 has not been proved due to lack of evidence”. The offence was alleged as regards land measuring 4 kanals and land measuring 14 marlas purchased by the wife of the accused at Ishber Nishat and Jammu.

“...the wife of the accused was also a public servant and an earning hand and it has nowhere been projected in the challan or by way of evidence that the money paid for purchase of the same was given by the accused,” the court said, adding, “Under such circumstances and for lack of evidence, the said offence is not proved and the accused is acquitted of the same.” VOK was represented in the case by Wajahat Jamil, Special Public Prosecutor.