Bombay HC discharges ex-IITM scientist, technical officer from CBI case

Justice Sandeep V Marne noted, “I am unable to hold that CBI has any chance of securing conviction of the applicants based on the material collected by it. In fact, continuation of prosecution of the applicants would not only be an empty formality, but an abuse of process of law.”

The anti-corruption wing of CBI in Pune had alleged that the corruption took place between 2011 and 2018 in the purchases connected to ‘System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research’ (SAFAR), which is a key project of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, implemented by IITM.

As per the CBI, digital display boards were sold to the IITM at eight times the price they were bought by the company.

The HC was hearing revision application by Dr Gufran Beig, who was functioning as Project Leader at IITM at relevant time and had prepared an indent to produce Digital Display system for Pune city, comprising 12 outdoor LED displays and five Indoor LED Displays at approximate cost of Rs 4 crore.

As per CBI, indent for approval of Director was placed through another applicant Vipin Mali on October 4. 2011 and the LED displays were installed in Pune in 2012.

Seven years later, CBI allegedly received information related to irregularities in supply and installation of 12 substandard and below specifications digital display system for Pune SAFAR by Video Wall.

The central agency conducted surprise checks in 2012 and had sent the tile of every display for testing to the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP), which found they were not as per brightness specifications.

The CBI alleged that the contractor procured the LED display units from China, which were cheaper in quality and price and thereafter cheated IITM in connivance with Beig and Mali.

The bench, while granting relief to the applicants, noted that departmental enquiry (DE) has absolved Mali of various allegations and Beig was not subjected to DE as he retired on May 31, 2021. However, the nature of charges levelled against Mali in DE were identical to the role of Beig in the prosecution, therefore it can be concluded that “CBI would not be in a position to secure conviction against Beig” based on material collected during the probe, the bench added.