Former UT chief engineer convicted

Eleven years after he was booked by the Anti-Corruption Unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation in New Delhi in a disproportionate assets case...

Eleven years after he was booked by the Anti-Corruption Unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation in New Delhi in a disproportionate assets case,the special CBI court of Jagdeep Jain convicted former UT chief engineer K K Jerath on Friday. Jerath was dismissed in 1999 following the registration of the case. He was accused of amassing property worth Rs 55 lakh,which was disproportionate to his income. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on Saturday.

The case was registered on January 9,1998,by the CBI following an Income Tax departments raid at Jeraths residence on November 20,1997. He was found to be in possession of Rs 6.29 lakh in cash,while another Rs 5 lakh,gold jewellery and numerous property transaction papers in the names of his wife and son were kept in his bank locker. The CBI too raided the residence of Jerath on January 15,1998,and found property worth Rs 90 lakh to be disproportionate to his known sources of income. The CBI court,however,convicted him for possessing disproportionate assets worth Rs 55 lakh.

The court ruled: The accused has failed to satisfactorily explain the disproportionate assets. The verdict also pointed out that the investigating officer in the case had given some benefits to the accused and that the court completely disagreed with them. The judge was referring to an explanation by Jerath on a sum of Rs 2.5 lakh. Jerath had said the amount was given to him by his father-in-law. The same statement was submitted in the court by the investigating officer. The court defined the role of an investigating officer and said he was only supposed to collect evidence and not draw conclusions. The court has examined nearly 92 prosecution witness and 24 defence witnesses in the case.

The defence had pleaded that Jerath had been maintaining records of his wifes income from music tuitions. The court,however,found that he started doing so only after a complaint was registered against Jerath in 1991 and an explanation sought on his incomes.

The court had framed charges in the case on September 6,2004.

Jerath was present in the court along with his two sons and refused to talk to the media after the verdict was announced. He has several other cases of corruption registered against him that are pending in court at present.

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