A CBI court on Tuesday convicted former public works department (B&R) executive engineer Joginder Singh in a 15-year-old corruption case for using forged bills to secure the release of ₹1.62 crore in government funds and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment of up to five years.
Special judge, CBI, Baljinder Singh Sra convicted Joginder Singh, a resident of Barnala, under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13(1)(d) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Singh was sentenced to five years’ rigorous imprisonment each under Sections 420 and 467 IPC, three years each under Sections 468 and 471 IPC, and three years under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He was also fined ₹1 lakh in total. The court directed that all sentences would run concurrently and granted him the benefit of set-off for the period already spent in custody.
While awarding the sentence, the court referred to Supreme Court judgments and observed: “The fundamental purpose of imposition of sentence is based on the principle that the accused must realise that the crime committed by him has not only created a dent in his life but also a concavity in the social fabric. It serves as a deterrent.”
The prosecution, led by public prosecutor Manjit Singh for the vigilance bureau, argued that Singh dishonestly prepared forged bills, secured the release of government funds and illegally disbursed them to contractors in violation of contractual provisions and statutory financial rules. The prosecution sought the maximum punishment.
{{/usCountry}}The prosecution, led by public prosecutor Manjit Singh for the vigilance bureau, argued that Singh dishonestly prepared forged bills, secured the release of government funds and illegally disbursed them to contractors in violation of contractual provisions and statutory financial rules. The prosecution sought the maximum punishment.
{{/usCountry}}According to the prosecution, the vigilance bureau registered an FIR in May 2013 after a departmental inquiry found that Joginder Singh, then executive engineer posted at Mansa, had fabricated running bills relating to road construction work being executed by M/s Dharampal Contractor Hot Mix Plant, Danewal.
The court held that instead of processing the genuine second running bill, which reflected a net payable amount of about ₹73.10 lakh, the accused prepared forged bills and secured the release of ₹1.62 crore from the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA). It found that ₹73 lakh was released to the contractor, while the remaining amount was diverted towards advance payments to various contractors.
The judgment said the disputed bills contained forged signatures of the sub-divisional engineer, omitted mandatory deductions, bypassed scrutiny by the accounts branch and were used to obtain public money. A forensic science laboratory confirmed that the signatures on the disputed bills were forged.
The court also found that Joginder Singh violated departmental rules by releasing advance payments of about ₹2.26 crore to 14 contractors without proper allotment of works and without following contractual safeguards. It held that the forged bills qualified as “valuable security” under Section 30 of the IPC because they created a legal right to obtain the release of government funds.
Rejecting the defence, the court held that the prosecution had established an unbroken chain of oral, documentary and circumstantial evidence proving that the accused prepared and knowingly used forged documents to release public funds. It also ruled that subsequent adjustments in accounts did not erase the offence because the deception had already succeeded in securing the release of money.
During the sentencing hearing, the defence pleaded for leniency, citing the convict’s age of 60 years, ailments including a brain tumour/cyst and responsibility towards his family. The court, however, held that the nature of the offence warranted imprisonment.