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Synopsis

A Delhi court has recently sentenced former Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Rambeer Shokeen to four months in jail for failing to appear before court despite repeated summons.

The Delhi politician, who was declared a proclaimed offender after this, was an accused in a case related to the running of an organised crime syndicate in the Delhi-NCR region and registered under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). On August 23, he was acquitted of the charges under MCOCA.

While giving Shokeen a four-month jail term, Special Judge Geetanjli Goel of the Rouse Avenue Court said that it was not a fit case for release on probation.

“Considering the fact that the convict was earlier declared a proclaimed offender and was then arrested and had then again escaped from custody and was declared an absconder and surrendered only after considerable time had lapsed, the present is not a fit case to release the convict on probation”, the court said in its order dated August 26.

“…it would be reasonable if the convict Rambeer Shokeen is sentenced to simple imprisonment for a period of 4 months”, the court ordered.

The prosecution submitted that the present was not a case that deserved leniency and maximum punishment ought to be awarded to the convict which should be exemplary. It was submitted that the convict Rambeer Shokeen was highly placed and was a Member of the Legislative Assembly and he should have acted more responsibly and he ought not to have indulged in criminal activities and should have honored the law but he did not do so.

The counsel for Shokeen contended that he had been falsely implicated in the present case and he was a person of repute in the society and he had won elections as an independent MLA and his wife also won the elections as a Councilor. “There was no case against him prior to the present case and subsequently FIRs were registered only to implicate him”, the counsel submitted.

Delhi Police had lodged the case under MCOCA against Shokeen, gangster Neeraj Bawana and Pankaj Sherawat and others. It stated Bawana as “a symbol of lawlessness” and “kingpin” of the racket, and alleged that Shokeen was the “political face” of the syndicate, as he had used the clout of these criminals to contest assembly election to “further his political ambitious and gaining pecuniary benefits”.

All three were acquitted in the case of running an organized crime syndicate in the region. The judge also acquitted Naveen Dabas and Rahul Dabas in the case.

Case Title: State v. Pankaj Sehrawat@ Pankaj & Ors.