Gujarat High Court Dismisses Plea Of IAS Officer Pardeep Sharma For Discharge In Illegal Land Allotment Case
|The Gujarat High Court dismissed the plea of IAS officer Pardeep Sharma against the order refusing to discharge him in the case for allotting land to a private company at lower rates and without due authorization from the State Government.
The Bench of Justice Sandeep N. Bhatt observed, “It is further observed that there is no material on record to show that the allegation is not without any basis. Further, it is also observed that the lands were allotted at lower price to that company by the applicant and without permission / sanction from the State Government and thereby misused his powers and authorities vested with him in the interest of the private industrial unit”.
Advocate R.J. Goswami appeared for Pradeep Nirankarnath Sharma (Applicant) and Public Prosecutor Mitesh Amin appeared for the State.
Pradeep Sharma, during his tenure as a Collector, allotted government land to Saw Pipe Limited. A complaint was filed alleging that the allotment was granted at lower rates and without authorization from the Deputy Secretary of the Revenue Department. Post investigation, a chargesheet was filed against him. He filed an application seeking discharge which was rejected by the Trial Court. However, the Revisional Court partly allowed his appeal. The Revisional Court discharged him for the offence punishable under Section 217 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) but confirmed the charges under Sections 409 and 120B. Aggrieved, he approached the High Court challenging the order of the Revisional Court.
The Court noted that the company had made one application for allotment which was xeroxed twice by Sharma. He thereafter registered all three applications in the inward register, converting one application into three applications. The Court also observed that he had allotted the land at lower prices without due authorization, thus misusing his powers.
Furthermore, the Court held that the findings of the Courts were correct as a prima facie offense was made out against Sharma.
Accordingly, the Court dismissed the Application.
Cause Title: Pradeep Nirankarnath Sharma v State Of Gujarat