Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Aug 14
A court in Srinagar has sentenced a former executive engineer of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rural Engineering Wing in Ganderbal and a departmental orderly to four years’ imprisonment each for corruption and criminal conspiracy in a 2014 bribery case.
Special Judge Anti-Corruption Srinagar Tasleem Arief convicted Ghulam Nabi Dar, the former executive engineer, and Muhammad Shameem Parrah, who was then an orderly in the REW Ganderbal office.
The two were convicted under provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120-B of the erstwhile state Ranbir Penal Code.
The court imposed four-year prison terms and a fine of Rs 10,000 on each accused for criminal misconduct, accepting illegal gratification and criminal conspiracy.
The prison terms will run concurrently.
The case originated from a complaint alleging that Dar had demanded Rs 10,000 from the complainant for clearing a payment bill related to the construction of an “Apna Panchayat Ghar” at Sarfaraw-A in Ganderbal.
The Vigilance Organisation Kashmir, now the Anti-Corruption Bureau, subsequently laid a trap.
During the operation, Rs 3,000 in treated currency notes were recovered from Parrah, who allegedly received the money on Dar’s instructions.
The court found that the prosecution evidence established the demand and acceptance of illegal gratification and convicted both men of criminal misconduct, bribery and criminal conspiracy.
In its ruling, the court highlighted the wider damage caused by corruption and referred to a Supreme Court judgment describing corruption as a serious threat to constitutional governance, democracy and the rule of law.
The court said corruption undermined principles including justice, liberty, equality and fraternity and stressed the need for anti-corruption laws to be applied in a manner that strengthens efforts to combat the practice.
It held that Dar’s alleged demand for money to release the complainant’s bill initiated the transaction and allowed the statutory presumption under the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act to be drawn.
The court considered both aggravating and mitigating circumstances while deciding the sentence.
It noted that Dar was elderly and had been compulsorily retired from government service, while Parrah had been a subordinate employee.
The court also took into account that the accused had spent about 10 years facing trial and had no previous conviction for a similar offence.
However, it said their official positions required them to act with honesty, fairness and promptness in dealing with members of the public and that corruption offences required adequate punishment.
Each convict was ordered to undergo an additional month of simple imprisonment for each count in the event of non-payment of the fines.
