Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 13: High Court quashed the FIR of the then Chief Engineer Public Works Department registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau for corruption charges as the Bureau has acted against him on a belated stage and observed such a course is not permitted in law rather is barred by law.
Nisar Ahmad Bhat, the then I/C Chief Engineer in PWD had approached the court to challenge the FIR No.23/2020 registered against him at Anti Corruption Bureau, Kashmir, Srinagar under Sections 5(1)(c), 5(1)(d) read with Section 5(2) of Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006, and Sections 467, 468, 471 and 120-B RPC.
As per case summery Bhat has retired on attaining the age of superannuation as Incharge Chief Engineer, PWD(R&B), on June 30, 2018 and at that time, neither there had been any criminal case registered or under investigation against him, nor had there been any departmental enquiry contemplated or pending against him.
He stated that in the year 1998, while he was posted as Assistant Executive Engineer, PWD(R&B), Budgam, the Telecom Department intended to lay cables along the Humhama-Budgam and Budgam-Yechgam general roads, for which it had to dig the berms of the roads.
The offence as alleged to have been committed by the petitioner 22 years back while he was posted as an Assistant Executive Engineer in R&B Division, Budgam. It is mentioned in FIR that a preliminary enquiry was conducted by ACB J&K on a source report that large scale bungling was committed by the officers/officials of R&B Division, Budgam, in connection with execution of some works.
In the impugned FIR it is revealed that various officer of the department, including petitioner-Bhat, drew lakhs of rupees during the year 1998-99 in connivance with concerned contractors and embezzled the same against unexecuted works or the works that had been already executed by Telecom Department. In FIR it is also made mention of that during the course of enquiry it was found that the road leading to Yechgam and Sheikhpora was damaged due to laying of cables by the Telecom Department and the damaged work was shown to be undertaken by R&B Division Budgam at a cost of Rs.1,40,353/- in clear violation to codal formalities.
“The payments had been made against hand receipts and the works, too, had been executed without observing the codal formalities. Further, it had also been found that the amount was drawn through cheques in the name of contractors, namely, Mohammad Hashim Raina of Hassipora, Chadoora for Rs.35,750, Mukhtar Ahmad Bhat of Eidgah for Rs.19,070, Javaid Ahmad Bhat S/o Abdul Aziz Bhat R/o Channapora for Rs.49,470 and Ali Mohammad Shah of Pulwama : Rs.29,920”, reads the FIR.
The FIR says that the Government vide letter No.GAD(Vg) 53-RDA/2019 dated 07.10.2020, has decided to reopen the matter for re-investigation and filing of the challan against all the accused officers involved in the embezzlement in the court of law for criminal offences.
Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul on glimpse of impugned FIR said, it unequivocally unveils that the case has been decided and ordered to be reopened for reinvestigation and for filing of the challan for criminal offences against petitioner-Bhat and others and such a course is not permitted in law rather is barred by law. “Reinvestigation portrays fresh investigation that is not permitted by law”, reads the judgment.
The action on part of the ACB, court said, appears to be not only unreasonable, inordinately belated, outcome of an afterthought but it gives a reason to any prudent person to conclude that it is not well intended. ” Taking into account above discourse, I am of the considered view that impugned FIR cannot and does not withstand the scrutiny of established law. It, therefore, deserves to be quashed. This petition is, accordingly, allowed and impugned FIR No.23/2020, registered at Anti-Corruption Bureau, Kashmir, Srinagar, is quashed”, Justice Koul concluded.
Justice Koul recorded that apparently, the Government slept over the matter and, during the interval, petitioner was promoted upto the rank of Chief Engineer and on attaining the age of superannuation, he retired 30th June 2018. “So, there appears to be no point in ordering reopening of the matter and reinvestigating the complaint, that too 22 years after the works had been executed and completed, and 18 years after it had been closed, more so when the report on the departmental enquiry, too, has been accepted and allegations dropped”, Court recorded.
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