Man acquitted in 37-yr-old CBI case; ‘blow to justice’, remarks Delhi court

Delhi court acquits accused in a 37-year-old disproportionate asset case, criticizing the criminal justice system for delays causing a miscarriage of justice.

In a scathing critique of the criminal justice system, a Delhi court has acquitted an accused in a disproportionate asset case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) 37 years ago, stating that “when the system fails, the truth remains hidden in the shudders of injustice.”

An application moved in November 2023 pointed out that Ahluwalia was not in a fit state of mind to stand trial. A medical board at IHBAS confirmed that he was suffering from moderate dementia with atypical Parkinson’s disease, and he was deemed unfit for trial. (Representational image)

“Delay by any stakeholder cog in the dispensation of the criminal justice system, be it by the investigating agency or by the unscrupulous devices adopted by the accused, not only causes a miscarriage of justice, but the delay becomes an instrument of inflicting a fatal blow on the efforts of justice dispensation,” remarked special judge Anil Antil in his judgment on July 12.

The case involved a former IAS officer, SS Ahluwalia, who, along with three others, was accused by CBI of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during his tenure in various official capacities.

The FIR was registered on March 24, 1987, and the chargesheet was filed on April 10, 1992. Summons were issued to the accused on September 18, 1992, and document scrutiny concluded in January 1997. However, the matter was stayed from May 8, 1997, until 2000.

The court described the case as a “classic example of justice becoming a casualty” due to the protracted trial and “deliberate lapses and perfunctory, shoddy investigation” by the agency, which seemed uninterested in pursuing the case to its logical conclusion from the outset.

The proceedings were repeatedly delayed, with arguments on charges beginning on December 7, 2000, and charges framed only on February 23, 2008. Miscellaneous applications by the accused further stalled the process. The trial court records were requisitioned by the high court in May-July 2008 and returned in 2009.

The court noted numerous adjournments due to the unavailability of witnesses, requests from parties, and missing original documents. Of the 327 witnesses cited by the agency, 48 were shown to be residing at temporary addresses such as hotels and guest houses, making them unavailable for deposition. Moreover, 200 witnesses had either died, left their addresses, or were too ill to appear. Consequently, only 87 witnesses were examined. By this time, Ahluwalia, now about 90 years old, had become unstable and was declared unfit to stand trial due to moderate dementia and atypical Parkinson’s disease.

CBI’s FIR alleged that Ahluwalia, with his younger brother Inderjit Singh, Bank of Baroda manager V Bhaskaran, and Nyamo Lotha, entered into a criminal conspiracy from July 1969 to March 1987, amassing approximately 68 lakh in wealth “through corrupt and illegal means”.

The court framed charges under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the IPC, read with Section 5(1)(e) and 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.

However, during the trial, accused Bhaskaran became an approver and was granted pardon but died before his statement could be recorded. Lotha had also died even before the trial could commence.

An application moved in November 2023 pointed out that Ahluwalia was not in a fit state of mind to stand trial. A medical board at IHBAS confirmed that he was suffering from moderate dementia with atypical Parkinson’s disease, and he was deemed unfit for trial.

Acquitting Singh, the court observed that the prosecution failed to prove its case against him. It could not be established that Singh was part of the conspiracy to acquire assets illegally for Ahluwalia or played any active role in it. The court also noted that four properties allegedly in Singh’s name were “benami”, as he did not claim any right over them. These properties were confiscated and vested with the Government of India.