Srinagar: Two former officials of government agriculture production department who are in their late seventies have been convicted and sentenced to one year’s jail and varied fines by a Special Judge, Anti-Corruption Kashmir, after fifteen years of trial in connection with a corruption case.
“Prosecution has succeeded in proving charge that accused abused their position as public servants by engaging daily rated workers, hatching conspiracy, in complete disregard to SRO 64 and Order 26-F promulgated by the Govt. that envisaged prohibition on engagement of daily rated workers and casual workers in Government Departments and these engagements were also dehors to rules and regulations of the recruitment procedure,” the Judge R. N. Watal said while convicting and sentencing Gulam Mohi-din Koul (the then Chief Agriculture Officer Srinagar) and Abdul Samad Khan (Senior Assistant).
Koul was sentenced to simple Imprisonment for one year and fine of Rs.2,00,000 in default thereof he has been ordered to undergo Simple imprisonment for a further period of one month under 5(2) of prevention of corruption act;
Also he has been imprisoned to simple Imprisonment six months and fine of Rs.10,000 in default thereof he would undergo Simple Imprisonment for a further period of one month under 120-B of RPC. Both these sentences have been ordered to run concurrently.
The court sentenced Khan to simple Imprisonment for one year and fine of Rs 20,000 and in default thereof he has been ordered to undergo Simple imprisonment for a further period of one month under 5(2) of prevention of corruption act.
The court took a lenient view, observing that it cannot be oblivious of the fact that the convicts had no bad antecedents and have already undergone agony of trial for period more than fifteen years as well. “Moreover the convicts are in their late seventies and though there is nothing on file to substantiate that accused are suffering from any disease but old age is itself a disease,” the court added.
The charge sheet owed its origin to a complaint of additional secretary to Government Agriculture Production Department on 1 July 1997 addressed to Commissioner Vigilance Organization Kashmir (VOK) against the then Chief Agriculture Officer Srinagar Gh.Mohidin Koul revealing therein that delinquent officer issued orders of appointment and Engagement of daily rated workers in violation of the Government SRO 64 dated 24.3.94 and Government order no. 26-F dated 31.1.94 with the help of Abdul Samad Khan, Senior Assistant of the Agriculture department besides a Junior Assistant, who has died since.
