Retd Army officer challenges conviction for selling attached property

A retired army officer on Saturday filed an appeal challenging the conviction orders in which he was sentenced to two-and-a-half years imprisonment for selling attached property at district courts, Sector 43, here. The appeal will be taken up by a sessions court on Monday. Col (retd) B S Guraya had filed an appeal on the grounds that the revenue authority (tehsildar) was never made party when the said agricultural land was attached by the CBI Special Judge.
Guraya was held guilty by chief judicial magistrate (CJM) Akshdeep Mahajan under Section 206 (fraudulent concealment of removal of property) on February 4 and the sentence was pronounced on February 8.

Guraya further stated in the appeal that the complaint was filed by the staff of the CBI Special Court, and he had accepted during the trial that he had no knowledge of the case. He said in the appeal that he owns a four-canal house worth Rs 30 crore. The said house was released from the court with directions that the residential house will not be sold as a disproportionate assets case was pending against Guraya in the CBI Special Court.

The application regarding attachment of property was moved by the administration on July 5, 1993 and 26 persons were impleaded in it, including Guraya’s family. However, the revenue authority was not impleaded in it, which shows there was no intention to attach the agriculture land, he stated in the application.

He had sold his attached agricultural land to some persons in Hoshiarpur. The agricultural land of the army personnel was attached by the CBI during the investigation of a corruption case against him. The CBI had booked him under sections 13 (2), 13 (1), of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The investigating agency had concluded in its chargesheet that from January 1987 to August 1990, Col Guraya and some others had allegedly bought properties amounting to Rs 82.58 lakh. These said properties were disproportionate to the tune of Rs 72.69 lakh.