Chandigarh: Ex-arms branch employee acquitted in embezzlement case

The charges stemmed from a complaint filed by the DC office after an audit revealed that fees collected from arms license applications were not being deposited into the government account

In a seven-year-long legal battle, a former employee of the DC office’s arms branch, Ajay Parkash, has been acquitted of charges related to the embezzlement of over ₹1.3 lakh in government fees. The case, which was registered in 2017, concluded with the court ruling in favour of the accused.

The court, after hearing the arguments and reviewing the evidence, found the prosecution’s case to be weak and lacking in sufficient proof to convict the accused. (HT photo for representation)

The charges stemmed from a complaint filed by the DC office after an audit revealed that fees collected from arms license applications were not being deposited into the government account. A committee formed to investigate the matter had initially implicated Ajay Parkash, 39, from Pinjore, leading to the registration of a case under Section 409 of the IPC at Sector-17.

However, during the trial, the defense counsel, Sudesh Kumar Pandey, argued that Ajay Parkash was falsely implicated. Pandey maintained that a note used as evidence against his client was written under duress and that it was another employee’s responsibility to deposit the collected fees. The defense highlighted that Ajay Parkash was being used as a scapegoat to protect other officials involved.

The court, after hearing the arguments and reviewing the evidence, found the prosecution’s case to be weak and lacking in sufficient proof to convict the accused.