Tags:
Journalism of Courage
CHENNAI, Jan 14: Jegan M Seshadri, presently inspector general, CB CID, has been sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for one year and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 5,000 by the Madras High Court for corrupt practices.
8220;On an analysis, I am satisfied that the prosecution has proved satisfactorily that the accused was in possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during the check period May 1977 to March 19848221;, Justice A Raman, who awarded the sentence, has observed.
However, the Additional Sessions Judge here on July 9, 1990, acqquitted him of the charge. Challenging the acquittal, the state government preferred the present appeal in the same year.
According to the appellant, Seshadri had constructed a house in Bangalore in the name of his mother. Besides the cash of Rs 90,000, several articles were found in his house, for which he could not give a proper account.
There was a flaw in the framing of charges by the lower court. The accused himself had given a statement with regard to receipt of Rs 90,000. His parents do not hail from an affluent family. Unless there was a proper explanation, the assets are to be held disproportionate.
Allowing the appeal, the judge observed that the receipt of the amount would squarely fall within the ambit of Sec. 131e of the PCA, thereby proving that the accused was found to have disproportionate assets, source of which is attributable only to corrupt practices. The accused is said to have had in his possession certain timber. There is no explanation as to how he acquired it. From the timber, number of double-cots were made by him. It is yet another source of disproportionate income.
