‘Flaw in chargesheet against Goswami’

A vigilance court here today refused to take cognizance of the chargesheet against suspended IAS officer and former Patna District Magistrat...

A vigilance court here today refused to take cognizance of the chargesheet against suspended IAS officer and former Patna District Magistrate Gautam Goswami in connection with the multi-crore flood relief scam on technical grounds.

Designated Vigilance Judge Srinivas Prasad in his order on the Vigilance Bureau’s prayer for taking cognizance of the charges against Goswami and 10 others, said ‘‘cognizance is not taken against Goswami as sanction for his prosecution from a competent authority has not been made available to

the court.’’ The Bureau filed the chargesheet yesterday.

The court, however, took cognizance of charges against other accused, including alleged kingpin of the scam Santosh Kumar Jha, and the then Additional District Magistrate (Patna) Basdeo Prasad.

Cognizance was taken in respect of charges under various sections of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.

When contacted, Vigilance department sources said the bureau had approached the state government seeking prosecution sanction against Goswami and a Labour Department official Virendra Mahato, declared an absconder in the case.