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| Court acquits Panchayat Inspector, VO fails to establish case | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Jan 3
Special Judge Anticorruption Jammu Mr. Kartar Singh has acquitted Zaman Hussain Shah, the then Secretary Panchayat Gursai Tehsil Mendhar District Poonch, who was booked by Vigilance Organization under FIR No 20/1986 for alleged misappropriation of Rs.1111.47 during his posting from 1982 to 1985.
While acquitting the accused, Special Judge Anticorruption, after hearing both the sides, observed that from the statements of witnesses, it stands proved that at the relevant time Fazal Illahi was Sarpanch of the Gursai where the accused was secretary of the Panchayat. The Sarpanch was removed from the post of Sarpanch by passing vote of no confidence against him and the whole record including the cash book maintained by the alleged accused was in the possession of Sarpanch, which was not handed over to him. It would have been clear from the entries made in the said cash-book as to whether the amount was due against the accused or not but it has not been seized for the obvious reason that it was not handed-over by the deposed Sarpanch. After the accused, Mohd Razak Shabnam took the charge of secretary Gursai Panchayat to whom the accused did not give the cash book as it was not in his possession because it was forcibly retained by the deposed Sarpanch.
Court further observed that there is yet another feature in this case, which proves the innocence of accused. AH Banday prosecution witness deposed that in the year 2001, he was BDO Mendhar and at that time, the accused was Panchayat Inspector under him. From the statement of then BDO, it stands proved no objection certificate was issued in favour of accused on his retirement and had there been any Government money outstanding against him, he would not have been in a position to get the retrial benefits. This is also a material circumstance of the case, which has not been explained by the prosecution. From the record that the original FIR was registered as FIR NO 20/86 and the said FIR was later on bifurcated and FIR 57/93 was registered against the accused which was culminated in presentation of this challan against the accused.
Taking serious note of the investigating agencies of bifurcating the FIR, the Court said that there is considerable delay in registration the FIR against the accused for a sum of Rs 1111.47. The alleged misappropriation is stated to have been taken place during the tenure of accused as Secretary Gursai Panchayat, who took over the charge from Neelam Kumar in the year 1978 and was transferred from the said place in the year 1981. The said misappropriation, thus took place during the period from 1978 to 1981 but the FIR NO 20/1986 was registered against the accused in the year 1986 and it was again bifurcated and this FIR was registered against the accused in the year 1993.
With these observations, Court acquitted the accused from the charges against him as VOJ miserably failed to prove its against the accused beyond any reasonable shadow of doubt. JNF |
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