Misappropriation of funds: HC upholds charge-sheet against LCMA officials

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh Wednesday upheld the chargesheet against officers of Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA) who were allegedly involved in misappropriation of funds worth Rs.35.04 lakhs.

The court of Justice Sanjay Dhar dismissed a plea of the then Range Officer LCMA, Niyaz Ahmad Baba, and the then Forester in LCMA, Noor Mohammad Khan challenging the charge sheet arising out of FIR No.25/2010 for offences under Section 5(1)(c), 5(1)(d) read with Section 5(2) of J&K Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120-B, 467, 468, 471, 409, 420 and 109 RPC registered with Police Station, Vigilance Organization, Kashmir (VoK)

Perusing the material on record, Justice Dhar noted that the petitioners have not denied the fact that they were the architect of the estimates which became the basis of future execution of the works.

“It is a settled law that it is not necessary that all the conspirators should participate from the inception to the end of the conspiracy,” the court said.

Even though, the bench said, the petitioners were disassociated from the works that were subject matter of the Joint Surprise Check, yet the material on record certainly suggests that the basis for the commission of actual crime of misappropriation of Rs.35.04 lacs had been laid by the petitioners.

“Had the petitioners not kept any provision for getting stones from outside sources in the estimates prepared by them, it would not have been possible for the co-accused to draw the money on account of cost of carriage charges and cost of stones from outside sources,” Justice Dhar pointed out.

The mere fact, the court held, that the petitioners were not working in the department at the time when the actual crime took place, would not make any difference.

Justice Dhar observed that it is clear that it is not necessary that every participant in a criminal conspiracy should have the knowledge of the part that is being played by other co-conspirators or that his participation should be from the very inception of the conspiracy to its actual execution i.e. commission of actual offence.

“So, the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners that the petitioners were disassociated from the entire process long before the actual works were executed and payments were made to the beneficiaries and, as such, they cannot be booked for the offence of criminal conspiracy, is without any merit,” the court said while dismissing the plea.

As per the chargesheet, the accused the then DFOs, Mehraj-ud-din Shah & Mohammad Aslam Chisti, JE Wiqar Ahmad, and others, under a well-knit conspiracy and in connivance with contractors, have abused their official position and misappropriated lacs of rupees in construction of Gabion Check Dam which was erected in the shape of stone beds covered with crate wire for treatment of Sangh Reshi Nallah at Khimber Takya Srinagar.

It revealed that ten works were executed by different contractors at the cost of Rs.109.97 lacs during the financial years 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09.

It further revealed that an amount of Rs.35.04 lacs was shown to have been spent on carriage of stones from Athwajan quarry and Wussan Nallah to the site of construction, namely, Nallah Sangreshi, while as no stone was found to have been used/transported from these places to the site.

The chargesheet stated that the stones which were available at the site were utilized in construction of Dams.

“Thus, the accused public servants including the petitioners herein had resorted to manipulation of records and misappropriated a sum of Rs.35.04 lacs,” it stated.

After investigation of the case, the allegations were established against as many as 17 persons which included 11 contractors and six public servants. The offences were also established against the petitioners as well.