Delhi District Court
Cbi vs . Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry Cghs Ltd.) on 17 July, 2023
CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.)
IN THE COURT OF SH. ANIL ANTIL
SPECIAL JUDGE, PC ACT, CBI-15,
ROUSE AVENUE DISTRICT COURT, NEW DELHI.
IN THE MATTER OF :
CBI No. : 214/2019
CNR No. : DLCT 11-000861-2019
RC No. : 22(A)/2006/CBI/SCU-V/SCR-II/N. Delhi
U/Sec.: 120B IPC r/w Section 419/420/468/471
IPC and Section 13 (2) r/w Section 13 (1)
(d) of PC Act,1988.
CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
VERSUS
1.Sri Chand S/o Late Sh. Hari Singh, R/o 274-A,Pocket-C, Mayur Vihar, Phase-II.
New Delhi-91 .............................(Convict-1)
2. Anna Wankhede S/o Sh. Parnuji, R/o 148-E, Pocket A-2, Mayur Vihar, Phase-III, New Delhi-96 .............................(Convict-2)
3. Rohit Kumar S/o Sh. Anil Kumar Saxena R/o C-34/D, Madhu Vihar, Patparganj, New Delhi .............................(Convict-3) CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 1 of 15 CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.)
4. Kishore Aggarwal S/o Sh. Shyam Sunder R/o P-5, Gali No. 13, Madhu Vihar, Delhi. .............................(Convict-4)
5. Rajat Verma S/o Sh. Dharminder Swaroop Saxena R/o A-2/701, Silver Estate Apartments, Sector-50, Noida. .............................(Convict-5)
6. Sanjay Kapasia S/o Sh. Shiv Raj Singh F-382 Delta, Moida PS Kasna, Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar. .............................(Convict-6) ORDER ON THE POINT OF SENTENCE
1. The matter is listed for awarding quantum of sentence to the convicts named above for the respective offences for which they were charge-sheeted and accordingly, after conclusion of the trial, the said offences have been duly proved against them, and been held guilty for the said offences in terms of the para no. 632 of the judgment pronounced by this Court on 10.07.2023.
2. Learned PP for the CBI and learned defence counsels appearing on behalf of each of the convict have addressed their submissions at length in support of their respective case.
3. For the sake of convenience, it would be helpful to cite the offences for which the convicts have been held guilty, and the conclusion part is reproduced here as under :-
CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 2 of 15CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.) 3.1. Vide judgement dated 10.07.2023, the above convicts have been convicted as under:-
(i) A-1 Sri Chand, A-2 Anna Wankhede, stand convicted u/s 120B r/w 419, 420, 468 & 471 IPC and Section 13(2) r/w Section 13(1)(d)of PC Act 1988.
(ii) Accused Rohit Kumar (A-6) , Kishore Aggarwal (A-11), Rajat Verma (A-12) and Sanjay Kapasia (A-14) stand convicted u/s 120B r/w 420, 468 & 471 IPC.
(iii) Accused A-1 Sri Chand stands convicted for the substantive offence u/s 420 IPC . He is acquitted for the offence punishable u/s 419 IPC.
(iv) Accused A-2 Anna Wankhede stands convicted for the substantive offences u/s 419/420/468 & 471 IPC.
(v) Accused A-6 Rohit Kumar stands convicted for the substantive offences u/s 420 & 468 IPC, acquitted for the offence punishable u/s 419 IPC.
(vi) Accused A-11 Kishore Aggarwal stands convicted for the substantive offences u/s 420 & 468 IPC, acquitted for the offence punishable u/s 419 IPC.
(vii) Accused A-12 Rajat Verma stands convicted for the substantive offences u/s 420 & 468 IPC, acquitted for the offence punishable u/s 419 IPC.
(viii) Accused A-14 Sanjay Kapasia stands convicted for the substantive offences u/s 420 & 468 IPC, acquitted for the offence punishable u/s 419 IPC.CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 3 of 15
CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.) Arguments addressed by learned Public Prosecutor.
4. The learned PP for the CBI argued that the acts of the convicts are very serious and the offences committed by them are also grave in nature. The intent and object of sentencing is not only re formative but also deterrent, so that a person desist himself to involve in any illegal activity in future.
4.1 Learned PP further argued that the ratio of conviction is very low and the virus of corruption is increasing very rapidly ; it has infested our entire system and therefore stern view needs to be taken against the convicts, who have indulged in corrupt activities ; and the acts of the convicts of the case deserve maximum sentence, therefore, all the convicts should be awarded exemplary sentence as provided under the Statute.
4.2 He further argued that Society Chanderlok CGHS was revived on the basis of forged and fabricated documents through a well hatched conspiracy, whereby the convicts had fraudulently and dishonestly fabricated the records of the Society solely with the object to seek allotment of land and garner huge financial gains for themselves or their known persons.
4.3 Learned PP further urged that the offences committed by the convicts fall under the Prevention of Corruption Act,1988, have vast ramifications throughout the Country and is against the public good, and the sentence therefore should be commensurate with the offences for which the Convicts have been convicted to send across the message to dissuade them from committing similar offences in future.
CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 4 of 15CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.)
5. On the other hand, arguments were addressed by learned defence counsels appearing on behalf of all the respective convicts. 5.1 The learned defence counsels have addressed their submissions on similar lines by raising common prayer with the request to take lenient view, summarized as under :-
5.2 It was submitted that the case at hand pertains to the year 2006, with allegations of conspiracy dating back to the year 2000-
2006 , and the accused persons have suffered a-lot during this long period of protracted trial.
5.3 It is stated that all the convicts are facing trial for the last about 18 years or so ; have suffered not only physically but also mentally and financially, and thus, it is prayed that the rigors of trial faced by them during this long period have also taken a substantial toll on their mind and body, and the protracted trial faced by them is itself a sufficient punishment for the convicts in the given facts of the case. 5.4 It is further argued that the convicts are attending the regular trial of the case on day to day basis ; due to which they have lost their regular jobs and business, and at present have no regular source of income or additional earning to support their family financially, and any further incarceration would cause great injustice to them in the given facts and circumstances.
Individual Circumstances
6. Ld. Counsel for Convict Sri Chand submitted that he is senior citizen of aged about 64 years ; at critical stage of his life ; is suffering from various ailments ; is a known case of uncontrolled CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 5 of 15 CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.) type 2 diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, hypertension, L-5 S-1 radiculopathy, blindness in right eye and remained on dialysis every alternate day for several years ; and had a stunt implant due to blockage in heart artery.
6.1 It was urged that during dialysis the SPO2/Oxygen level and blood pressure of convict frequently falls, and to save his life he invariably remains on continuous oxygen support ; that due to low oxygen level and blood pressure he had suddenly fallen down on number of occasions.
6.2 It is stated that he also has problem of swelling in body due to the accumulation of toxic fluids in his body, and particularly lungs resulting into problem of breathlessness, and he is unable to walk, is on wheel chair and/or he needs proper help of one attendant every time for his care and survival.
6.3 Learned counsel for the convict Sri Chand further submits that convict has suffered a lot during the trial of this case ; has remained in judicial custody for a period of about three - four months ; has shown absolutely good conduct during the entire trial ; was regularly appearing before the court without fail and has not violated any condition of his bail bond .
6.4 It is further submitted that last week he suffered heart attack and was hospitalized in ICU, is struggling for his life and not in a position to physically bear any imprisonment due to his deteriorating health.
6.5 Further, it is argued that the convict also has the responsibility to maintain his wife who is completely dependent upon him and she is also suffering from old age ailments. On these grounds, CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 6 of 15 CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.) lenient view is prayed qua this convict.
7. Learned counsel for convict Anna Wankhede submitted that convict is a senior citizen of 72 years of age ; has lost one son last year ; younger son is still studying and needs proper guidance of his father for future ; his financial conditions are not good ; belongs to a poor strata and despite his bail orders, bail bond was not furnished for quite a long period due to financial issues. 7.1 Further learned counsel for the convict submitted that convict had remained in Judicial Custody for about 7-8 months in the present case ; attended the trial of the case regularly, without any default ; has no other involvement except the cases under group housing Societies ; and had recently suffered a paralytic attack, thereby no useful purpose would be served by sending him behind the bars and prayed that a lenient view be taken against him while awarding him sentence.
8. On behalf of convict Rohit Kumar, it was submitted by the Ld. Counsel that he is a Software Engineer by profession and working in a reputed MNC for the last 20 years ; that at the time of offence he was of quite a young age of 23-24 years, was a student doing his MCA after completing his Graduation in the year 2000 and was not aware of the consequences of the acts attributed to him ; the convict had shown absolutely good conduct during the entire trial and was regularly appearing before the court without fail. 8.1 It is further submitted that this is first conviction against him and not involved into any other offence of any nature whatsoever ; has clean antecedents ; has a young daughter studying in 12th class and a house-wife, who are totally dependent upon him ; sole bread CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 7 of 15 CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.) earner of his family, and they would be left without any guidance as well as financial support in case any incarceration is awarded to him
9. Learned Counsel for convict Kishore Aggarwal submitted that convict is aged about 57 years of age, belongs to a respectable family ; clean antecedents and this is his first and only conviction ; was involved into the affairs of the Society only for a short duration ; has regularly attended the trial, not misused the liberty and his good conduct through out the trial period be considered accordingly.
9.1 Learned counsel further submitted that convict has a family consisting of wife and a daughter of marriageable age, who are completely dependent upon him ; runs a small retail shop to earn his livelihood ; and is suffering from various old age ailments - heart and knee problem ; sole bread earner of his family, and thereby it is prayed that lenient view be taken.
10. On behalf of convict Rajat Verma , it is submitted that convict is aged about 46 years and is working in Private Sector ; is the only bread earner of his family consisting of a school going minor daughter and wife ; has clean antecedents no other involvement in any other offence, and this is his first conviction . 10.1. Learned counsel for the convict further urged that convict was involved into the affairs of the Society only for a short duration ; has regularly attended the trial, not misused the liberty and his good conduct through out the trial period be considered and thereby prayed that a lenient view be taken against him.
11. On behalf of convict Sanjay Kapasia, it is stated that he is 56 years of age, working as a part time accountant and doing odd CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 8 of 15 CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.) private jobs ; is the sole bread earner of his family consisting of his wife, two children and aged father, and has no other person in his family to look after them.
11.1 It is further stated that except the CGHS cases, he is not involved in any other criminal matter ; has clean antecedents ; has absolutely shown good conduct during the entire trial. It is stated that in one of the such cases convict was convicted but his conviction and sentence has been suspended by the Hon'ble High Court. On these grounds, lenient view is sought qua this convict.
12. Alternatively, it was also argued by all the learned defence counsels on behalf of the convicts namely Rohit Kumar, Kishore Aggarwal, Rajat Verma that they have been convicted only for offences under IPC and not under the P.C. Act ; they are first time offenders with no other conviction under any Act ; belongs to a respectable family ; mostly aged and suffering from various medical ailments, and they all be given benefit of Probation in terms of Section 360 Cr.P.C read with Section 3 and 4 of the Offenders Act, and they undertake to maintain peace and good behaviour for such a period as this court deems fit, and further undertakes to appear before the court for receiving sentence for any violation of any terms and conditions, if any, in case concession of Probation is granted to them.
13. Heard and record perused. Submissions noted and appreciated accordingly.
14. There is no straight jacket formula for sentencing an accused on conviction for the offences proved against them. But broadly the twin objectives of sentencing policy are 'deterrence' and 'reformation'.
CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 9 of 15CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.)
15. Their is no gainsaying that the punishment awarded should be proportionate to the nature and magnitude of the offence alongwith relevant facts and all attending circumstances.
16. But, the task is of striking a delicate balance between the mitigating and aggravating circumstances. At the same time, the avowed objects of law, of protection of society and responding to the society's call for justice, need to be kept in mind while taking up the question of sentencing in any given case. In the ultimate analysis, the proportion between the crime and punishment has to be maintained while further balancing the rights of the wrongdoer as also of the victim of the crime and the society at large. ( Reference made to : State of MP Vs. Suresh Criminal Appeal No. 319 of 2019 arising out of SLP(Crl.) No. 1837 of 2015 ).
17. The aggravating circumstances against the accused persons are that they have been convicted for conspiracy to commit offences under Preventive of Corruption Act alongwith offences of cheating and forgery amongst others.
18. Corruption is like termite which eats into the economy of the Nation and impacts it many other ways also. So, the offences for which, convicts have been convicted can not be said to be not serious or not a grave offence, and the genesis of the case crime was premised under the Preventive of Corruption Act, investigated pursuant to the directions of Hon'ble High Court wherein the Builder Mafia had colluded with private persons and officials of the Registrar Cooperative Society Office to revive the defunct societies on forged and fabricated documents for financial gains illegally. Forgery, cheating and corruption which have become rampant these days are CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 10 of 15 CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.) serious offences and can not be taken lightly.
19. Analyzing the facts of the case, the case of the convicts does not fall within the ambit and purview of the parameters laid down in terms of provisions of Section 360 CrPC and/or Section 4 of The Probation of Offenders Act, nor am I inclined to grant the said benefit to the aforesaid convicts in the given facts and circumstances and the manner in which the crime was committed.
20. For mitigating circumstances in favour of the convicts are that they have undergone the protracted trial for the last about 16 years or so ; that they are the sole bread earner of their families ; many of the convicts are senior citizens, at the age of retirement and suffering from serious chronic diseases as mentioned in the individual circumstances highlighted above on behalf of each convict, some of them were of young age when the offence was committed 20.1. Further convicts Sh. Rohit Kumar, Sh Kishore Aggarwal, Sh. Rajat Verma and Sh. Sanjay Kapasia came into the helm of the affairs of the Society subsequent to its revival and that also for short durations, whereas Sh. Srichand and Sh. Anna Wankhede amongst others were primarily responsible for manufacturing the false records of the Society prior to its revival, played active role during its revival and subsequent thereto.
21. The lenient as well as too harsh a sentence, both lose their efficaciousness. So, weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, in view of the circumstances under which the offences was committed and the role played by each convict, in my considered opinion, the sentence as imposed here under shall be just adequate and serve the best interest of justice.
CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 11 of 15CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.)
22. Accordingly, the convicts are hereby sentenced as under :-
23. Convict Sri Chand
(i) The convict Sri Chand is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for three years alongwith fine of Rs. 50,000/- u/s 120B IPC r/w Section 419/420/468/471 IPC and Section 13 (2) r/w Section 13 (1)(d) of PC Act, 1988. In case of default of payment of fine, he shall undergo simple imprisonment for a period of three months.
ii) The convict Sri Chand is also sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for three years alongwith fine of Rs.50,000/- for substantive and distinct offence under Section 420 IPC. In case of default of payment of fine, he shall undergo simple imprisonment for a period of three months.
24. Convict Anna Wankhede
i) The convict Anna Wankhede is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for two years alongwith fine of Rs. 20,000/- u/s 120B IPC r/w Section 420/468/471 IPC and Section 13 (2) r/w Section 13 (1)(d) of PC Act, 1988. In case of default of payment of fine, he shall undergo simple imprisonment for a period of two months.
CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 12 of 15CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.)
ii) The convict Anna Wankhede is also sentenced to imprisonment for two years alongwith fine of Rs. 10,000/- for each substantive and distinct offence under Section 419/420/468/471 IPC separately. In case of default of payment of fine, he shall undergo simple imprisonment for a period of two months for each distinct offence.
25. Convict Rohit Kumar
i) The convict Rohit Kumar is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for two years alongwith fine of Rs. 30,000/- u/s 120B IPC r/w Section 420/468/471 IPC. In case of default of payment of fine, he shall undergo simple imprisonment for a period of two months.
ii) The convict Rohit Kumar is also sentenced to imprisonment for two years alongwith fine of Rs. 30,000/- for each substantive and distinct offence under Section 420&468 IPC separately. In case of default of payment of fine, he shall undergo simple imprisonment for a period of two months for each distinct offence.
26. Convict Kishore Aggarwal
i) The convict Kishore Aggarwal is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for two years alongwith fine of CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 13 of 15 CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.) Rs. 30,000/- u/s 120B IPC r/w Section 420/468/471 IPC. In case of default of payment of fine, he shall undergo simple imprisonment for a period of two months.
ii) The convict Kishore Aggarwal is also sentenced to imprisonment for two years alongwith fine of Rs. 30,000/- for each substantive and distinct offence under Section 420&468 IPC separately. In case of default of payment of fine, he shall undergo simple imprisonment for a period of two months for each distinct offence.
27. Convict Rajat Verma
i) The convict Rajat Verma is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for two years alongwith fine of Rs. 30,000/- u/s 120B IPC r/w Section 420/468/471 IPC. In case of default of payment of fine, he shall undergo simple imprisonment for a period of two months.
ii) The convict Rajat Verma is also sentenced to imprisonment for two years alongwith fine of Rs. 30,000/- for each substantive and distinct offence under Section 420&468 IPC separately. In case of default of payment of fine, he shall undergo simple imprisonment for a period of two months for each distinct offence.
28. Convict Sanjay Kapasia CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 14 of 15 CBI Vs. Sri Chand Etc ( Rose Marry CGHS Ltd.)
i) The convict Sanjay Kapasia is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for two years alongwith fine of Rs. 30,000/- u/s 120B IPC r/w Section 420/468/471 IPC. In case of default of payment of fine, he shall undergo simple imprisonment for a period of two months.
ii) The convict Sanjay Kapasia is also sentenced to imprisonment for two years alongwith fine of Rs. 30,000/- for each substantive and distinct offence under Section 420&468 IPC separately. In case of default of payment of fine, he shall undergo simple imprisonment for a period of two months for each distinct offence.
29. All the sentences shall run concurrently.
30. All the convicts shall be entitled to the benefit of Section 428 Cr.P.C.
31. A copy of today's order alongwith copy of judgement be supplied free of cost to all the convicts.
Announced in the open court on this 17th day of July, 2023.
(ANIL ANTIL) SPL. JUDGE (PC ACT), CBI-15, ROUSE AVENUE DISTRICT COURT, NEW DELHI 17.07.2023 CBI Case No. 194/19 Page No. 15 of 15