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SC quashes graft proceedings against Jaffer Sharief
Friday November 09, 2012 10:10:20 PM,
IANS
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New Delhi: The Supreme
Court Friday quashed criminal proceedings against former railway
minister C.K. Jaffer Sharief in an alleged case of graft under the
Prevention of Corruption Act.
In a case dating back to 1995, Sharief was accused of corrupt
practices by taking his personal staff to London during one of his
various trips as railway minister. He had gone to London for
cardiac treatment.
Quashing the proceedings, an apex court bench of Justice P.
Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the matter could not be
construed as a corrupt or illegal activity for any pecuniary gains
for himself.
Sharief had challenged the April 11 Delhi High court order
affirming the order of the trial court rejecting his application
seeking discharge in the criminal prosecution initiated against
him.
Sharief was railway minister during the Congress government led by
P.V. Narasimha Rao.
The CBI had alleged that Sharief forced the managing directors of
two public sector undertakings, RITES and IRCON, to sanction
travel for four of his employees during the trip for a heart
operation.
Taking note of the fact that besides working as the minister of
railways, he was head of the two public sector undertakings, the
court said it appeared from the materials on record that the four
people while in London had assisted Sharief.
Having noted it, Justice Gogoi, pronouncing the judgment, said:
"It is difficult to visualise as to how in the light of the above
facts, demonstrated by the materials revealed in the course of
investigation, the appellant (Jaffer Sharief) can be construed to
have adopted corrupt or illegal means or to have abused his
position as a public servant to obtain any valuable thing or
pecuniary advantage either for himself or for any of the aforesaid
four persons."
"If the statements of the witnesses examined under Section 161
show that the aforesaid four persons had performed certain tasks
to assist the minister in the discharge of his public duties,
however insignificant such tasks may have been, no question of
obtaining any pecuniary advantage by any corrupt or illegal means
or by abuse of the position of the appellant as a public servant
can arise", the judgment said.
As a minister, the court said, it was for Jaffer Sharief to decide
on the "number and identity of the officials and supporting staff
who should accompany him to London if it was anticipated that he
would be required to perform his official duties while in London."
If in the process, the court said that the rules or norms
applicable were violated or the decision taken shows an
extravagant display of redundance it is the conduct and action of
the appellant (Jaffer Sharief) which may have been improper or
contrary to departmental norms.
"But to say that the same was actuated by a dishonest intention to
obtain an undue pecuniary advantage will not be correct", the
judgment observed.
Referring to the Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption
Act, the court said that it talked about "corrupt or illegal means
and abuse of position as a public servant."
Having noted this, the judgment said that considering the totality
of material on on record, "we do not find any reason to allow the
prosecution to continue against the appellant. Such continuance,
in our view, would be an abuse of the process of court and
therefore it will be the plain duty of the court to interdict the
same."
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