Early Times Report
JAMMU, Jan 28: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has acquitted Gh. Rasool Ganie, a Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) employee, in a corruption case dating back over two decades, setting aside his conviction and sentence imposed in 2008 by the Special Judge (Anti-Corruption), Srinagar.
Allowing Criminal Appeal No. 3/2008, Justice Sanjay Parihar ruled that the prosecution failed to prove charges beyond reasonable doubt, holding that the conviction was based on assumptions, conjectures, and incomplete evidence rather than legally sustainable proof.
The appellant had been convicted under Section 5(2) of the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006, along with Sections 468 and 471 RPC, and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment besides a fine and recovery of alleged excess benefits amounting to ?2.19 lakh.
The prosecution alleged that the appellant secured promotions in SKIMS by producing a fake matriculation certificate and by tampering with his Army Discharge Certificate to falsely project his rank as Naik instead of Rifleman. However, the High Court noted that the alleged matriculation certificate was only a photocopy, never recovered in original form, and did not pertain to the appellant at all, but to another individual.
The Court further observed that no expert evidence was led to establish forgery or authorship of the alleged documents and that members of the Selection Committee, which approved the promotions, were not examined, despite being crucial witnesses.
Reiterating settled legal principles, the Court held that "suspicion, however grave, cannot take the place of proof", and that criminal liability cannot be fastened in the absence of evidence proving mens rea, authorship, or exclusive control over forged documents.
Consequently, the High Court set aside the judgment of conviction and sentence dated February 8, 2008, acquitted the appellant of all charges, and ordered his discharge from bail bonds, bringing an end to the prolonged criminal proceedings. (JNF) |
