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GAUHATI HIGH COURT
M.Sharma, J.
Ananda Bezbaruah -Appellant
Versus
Union of India(Represented By Delhi Special) (Police Establishment, Cbi) -Respondent
Criminal Revision No. 327 of 1992
Decided On : 15-03-1993
CRIMINAL REVISION - PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION ACT, 1947 - SECTION 5(1)(E) - CHARGE FRAMING - QUASHING - DISPROPORTIONATE ASSETS - BENAMI PROPERTY - SATISFACTORILY ACCOUNT FOR - INTERPRETATION.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner, a Deputy General Manager and officiating General Manager (Administration), was accused of amassing disproportionate wealth during his service career. The CBI filed an FIR alleging that the petitioner had constructed a palatial building in the name of his wife and possessed disproportionate assets worth Rs. 2,50,000/-. During the investigation, documents were seized, including the petitioner's wife's income tax return, which disclosed that the petitioner had assets worth Rs. 8,22,796.53 during the check period, of which he could satisfactorily account for Rs. 2,75,872.51, resulting in disproportionate assets of Rs. 5,46,923.57.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the trial court had erred in framing charges against the petitioner under section 5(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, as the prosecution had failed to establish that the property in the name of the petitioner's wife was benami. The court held that the materials on record, including the income tax return of the petitioner's wife and the statements of witnesses, clearly established that the property was acquired by the wife from her own source of income and was not benami.
Issues: 1. Whether the charge framed under section 5(1)(e) and section 5(2) of the Act was based on consideration of the record of the case and the documents submitted therewith and were sufficient for presuming the petitioner guilty under the said sections of the Act? 2. Whether the property in the name of the wife of the petitioner Mrs Era Bezbaruah is a benami property? 3. Whether the materials on record, if unrebutted, is such, on the basis of which conviction under the said sections can be said unreasonably possible?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the prosecution had failed to establish that the property in the name of the petitioner's wife was benami. The court relied on the income tax return of the petitioner's wife and the statements of witnesses to conclude that the property was acquired by the wife from her own source of income. 2. The court held that the trial court had erred in framing charges against the petitioner under section 5(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, as the prosecution had failed to establish that the property in the name of the petitioner's wife was benami.
Final Decision: The court allowed the revision petition and quashed the charges framed against the petitioner under section 5(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points:
The prosecution must prove that the property alleged to be benami is actually benami and not the real property of the accused. The burden of proof lies with the prosecution to establish that the property is in the name of a third party and acquired through clandestine means, rather than from the accused's own income (!) (!) .
The court emphasized that the mere acquisition of property is not sufficient to constitute an offence under the relevant section; rather, the critical element is the inability of the public servant to satisfactorily account for the possession or assets disproportionate to his known sources of income (!) (!) .
The evidence must be examined carefully at the charge-framing stage to determine if it discloses all ingredients of the offence. The court should evaluate whether the facts, taken at face value, reasonably suggest the commission of the offence, without accepting all prosecution assertions as gospel (!) (!) .
When assessing whether the property in the name of a spouse is benami, the evidence, including income tax returns and other documents, must be scrutinized to determine the true source of the property. If the property is shown to be acquired from the spouse's own income, it cannot be deemed benami (!) (!) .
The court held that the materials available on record, including income tax returns and witness statements, sufficiently demonstrated that the property in question was acquired from the wife's own income, not as a benami transaction. Therefore, the charges based on the property being benami were not sustainable (!) .
The valuation of the property, including land and buildings, plays a significant role in calculating disproportionate assets. If these are excluded based on credible evidence, the remaining assets may not be disproportionate, affecting the validity of the charges (!) .
The court observed that the special judge had not properly considered the evidence, especially the income tax documents and statements, which clearly indicated that the assets were from legitimate sources. As a result, the framing of charges was found to be flawed, and the charges were quashed (!) (!) .
The legal principles clarified that at the initial charge-framing stage, the court's role is limited to assessing whether the evidence on record, taken at face value, discloses the ingredients of the offence. If the evidence reasonably supports the case, the prosecution should not be prematurely halted (!) (!) .
The order ultimately allowed the revision petition, quashing the charges against the accused, as the evidence did not establish prima facie that the property was benami or that the accused had failed to satisfactorily account for his assets (!) .
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2. Petitioner was the Deputy General Manager and was officiating in the post of General Manager (Administration), till April 1988. On 21.3.88 one Sari SK Saikia, Superintendent of Police, CBI/ACB, Shillong lodged an FIR on informations, alleging inter alia that the petitioner had amassed huge wealth by dishonest and corrupt means during his service career which grossly disproportionate to the known source of income of the petitioner. Further, it was alleged that the petitioner had constructed a two storied palatial building in the name of his wife Mrs Bra Bezbaruah and found to be in possession of disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs. 2,50,000/-approximately. During the investigation some documents from the house of the accused petitioner including a file of Mrs Era Bezbaruah (4 numbers containing documents pertaining to income, land, property (SI. No. 21), wherein it was disclosed that during the check period, ie 1.11.81 to 22.3.88, the petitioner was found in possession of total assets worth of Rs. 8,22,796.53 and the petitiorier could satisfactorily account for Rs. 2,75,872.51 and thereby total disproportionate assets in possession of the petitioner during the check period was to the tune of Rs. 5,46,923.57. The total break up given in the charge sheet and in the order of charge framed by the learned Special Judge (Annexure VII to the petition) is as follows :
The total break up according to the charge sheet submitted by CBI;
A. Assets at the beginning of check period Rs. 1,27,415.45
B, Assets at the close of the,check period Rs, 9,50,211.53
Assets acquired during the check period (B-A) Rs. 8,22,796.53
C. Income and other receipts during the check period Rs. 4,21,447.28
D. Expenditure during the check period Rs. 1,45,574.77
Likely savings (C-D) Rs. 2,75,872.51
Assets acquired during the check period Rs. 8,22,796.08
Likely savings (-) Rs. 2,75,872.51
Total disproportionate assets during the check period Rs. 5,46,923.57
The total break up according to the order of charges framed by the trial Court: Total assets at the beginning of
(a) Check period, i. e. Anterior assets Rs. 1,27,425.45
(b) Savings Rs. 1,45,574.77
(c) Total assets the petitioner should have Rs. 2,72,990.22
(d) Assets at the close of check period Rs. 10,53,313.02
Total disproportionate assets the petitioner could not satisfactorily account for Rs. 7,80,322.80 (Exenditure figure was wrongly taken as savings figure)
3. In para 10 of the charge sheet the value of the building was included in the assets of the petitioner at the close of the check period amounting Rs. 8,55,065/-butthe said value has been reduced to Rs. 6,81,000/-(Annexure VI to the petition) after a re-valuation report by the Public Prosecutor, CBI. The accused petitioner had shown the value of the house, ie the cost of construction of the building at Rs. 2,50,000/- which was based on Assam PWD's prevailing rates while according to the Management of OIL the total remitted cost of the building on 20.4.87 was Rs. 3,14,000/-. The petitioner's assertion was that the land and building as shown in the Income Tax Return of Mrs Era Bezbaruah, wife of the petitioner (Document of the prosecution) is the exclusive property of petitioner's wife who was an income tax payee. With the
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