Jammu, Sept 10: The special judge, anti-corruption, Jammu, B L Bhat, Thursday acquitted the former minister of state for Health and Family Welfare, Govind Ram Sharma, but convicted the then director, Health Services, Jammu, Dr M P Gupta, in an illegal appointments case.
In his 33-page judgment, Bhat observed that in absence of sanction for prosecution of the accused minister, the entire exercise of trial against him stood vitiated. It said that the 33 appointments made had created a liability on the state exchequer. The appointment orders were issued by the then director, Health Services, just three months before he demitted his office on attaining the age of superannuation.
After hearing the defense counsels for both the accused and the prosecution, the court acquitted the then minister, Sharma, from the charges leveled against him but convicted the then director, Gupta, and awarded him one year imprisonment and fine of Rs 10,000.
In his arguments, the chief prosecuting officer, appearing for the Vigilance Organization, Jammu, Purushotam Sharma, said the court had taken cognizance against the accused former minister in terms of the provisions under section 190 CrPC and it was empowered to do so. The court observed that admittedly the accused Sharma was the minister of state with independent charge at the time of the commission of the alleged offence.
Being a member of the state legislature and of the council of ministers, he was a public servant in terms of the provision of section 2 (a) of Prevention of Corruption Act. Section 6 of the Act lays down the mandatory provisions in terms whereof previous sanction for prosecution was a sine-qua none for taking cognizance of offence under PC Act against a public servant.
Admittedly, the investigation had not arraigned Sharma as an accused and his role was not proved. In terms of the order dated September 22, 2003, the then MoS was arraigned as accused after holding that he too was privy to the commission of the crime imputed to the accused director.
Counsel for Sharma argued that since no material establishing complicity of the accused in the alleged crime had been unearthed by the investigation and no sanction for prosecution had been obtained, taking of cognizance against him was bad. He said that even if the court was of the opinion that there was some material pointing towards his complicity, it should have directed further investigation and not taken cognizance of offence u./s 5(2) PC Act against him. 
On August 31, 2009, the Anticorruption court, Jammu, had convicted the former director in another case of illegal appointments.
The VOJ had registered a case against Sharma and Gupta following a complaint alleging that the then director, at the behest of the then MoS, Health and Family Welfare, had  appointed more than 200 persons as pharmacists, junior assistants, drivers and other class IV workers in contravention of recruitment rules without advertising the openings. It was alleged that no criteria was followed in making the appointments.
A case was registered u/s 5(2) PC Act 2006 read with section 161, 120-B RPC. The investigation revealed that the accused during his tenure from May 1997 to ending March 1998 as director appointed 33 candidates illegally in gross violation of rules allegedly on the endorsement/recommendations made on the applications of candidates by the then MoS, Pt Sharma throwing all norms to winds and making the appointments illegally with ulterior motives. After investigation, the challan was produced in the court.
JNF

Lastupdate on : Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:30:00 GMT
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