Wednesday, February 12th, 2025

So much delay in justice… Man acquitted in 34 year old corruption case, know the whole case

New Delhi: There is a saying that justice delayed is justice denied. This saying proved very true in a recent court order. On July 12, Special Judge Anil Antil acquitted the accused in a 37-year-old corruption case. While delivering the verdict, he/she said that delay by any party or agency in the justice system, whether it is the investigating agency or the wrong tactics adopted by the accused, not only becomes an obstacle in giving the right decision, but this delay also causes a fatal blow to the efforts to get justice.What is the whole matter?
The case dates back to 1987, when the CBI had registered an FIR against IAS officer Surendra Singh Ahluwalia (then chief secretary, Nagaland) and three others – V Bhaskaran, manager of Bank of Baroda, Coimbatore, Ahluwalia’s brother and Inderjit Singh, manager of Bank of Baroda in Kohima, and Nyamo Lotha – on charges of cheating, destruction of evidence, corruption and other offences.

They were accused of amassing Rs 67.9 lakh through corrupt and illegal means between July 1969 and March 1987, by Ahluwalia (who was also in the Indian Army from 1964 to 1969). Of these accused, Ahluwalia was declared unfit for trial due to his/her mental condition, Bhaskaran turned witness and was pardoned in 1996, Indrajit was acquitted on July 12 this year and Nyamo Lotha died in 1991.

What did the court say in its decision?
The court held that the prosecution failed to prove its case. The court said that the case has become a “classic example” of miscarriage of justice not only because of the long drawn trial but also because of the deliberate negligence and lax investigation by the investigating agency. The court found that from day one, the investigating agency never had the intention to take the case to its logical conclusion.

The court found that the prosecution had produced 327 witnesses, of whom 48 were said to be staying in hotels and guest houses. Obviously, the investigating agency knew that these witnesses would not be able to appear in court. At the same time, more than 200 witnesses had died, their addresses had changed or they were unable to testify due to illness. As a result, from the beginning of the trial in 1992 to a long period of time, statements of only 87 witnesses could be recorded. Meanwhile, Ahluwalia, who was about 90 years old, became mentally unstable and deteriorated and he/she was declared unfit to face trial.

The case was stayed by the Delhi High Court in May 1997 till 2000. In 2008, the High Court sought the lower court records, which it received in 2009. The court said that the arguments/consideration on the charges began in December 2000 and the charges were framed only in February 2008, the intervening time being occupied by various applications filed by the accused. In 2019, a Delhi court had held Ahluwalia guilty of possessing arms and ammunition in a CBI case and sentenced him/her to five years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh. However, another court had accepted his/her appeal against his/her conviction and verdict.

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