[PMLA Case] Delhi Court sentences 2 Former Delhi Jal Board officials to 3 years of Rigorous Imprisonment

A Delhi Court last week sentenced two former Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials namely Raj Kumar Sharma and Ramesh Chand Chaturvedi to three years of rigorous imprisonment in a money laundering case registered by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED).

Special Judge Ashwani Kumar Sarpal of the Rouse Avenue Court, Delhi observed, “The mere fact that ED has woken up after several years itself is not a ground to impose any sentence less than three years or to adjust this sentence with the earlier sentence undergone in CBI matter”.

The court noted that the two accused Raj Kumar Sharma and Ramesh Chand Chaturvedi had already undergone sentences of five years and four years respectively, in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case for the offence of misappropriation of Rs 47,76,622 lakh from the DJB.

It also noted that the ED registered the case against the convicts in December 2009, and filed the case in the Special Judge’s court in March 2021, after a gap of 11 years. The complaint was filed almost after 4.5 years of the completion of the sentence of the accused persons in the CBI case. “No explanation has been given in the complaint by the ED why it took several years to file the same in the court”, the court said.

“No doubt, there is no limitation period for filing the complaint in the court by the ED under PML Act but certainly in the present situation, it can be said that the ED slept over the matter for several years and suddenly come to the court to harass the accused persons and to upset their settled lives and has caused some prejudice to them”, the court added.

The Special Judge opined that if the court concerned had passed a conviction order and sentenced the accused persons in both the CBI case and the ED complaint case, they would have had the benefit of undergoing concurrent sentence; however, because they had already been sentenced in the CBI case, giving further sentence in the PMLA case would deprive them of the benefit of the concurrent sentence, as well as Section 44 (1) (c) of the PMLA.

Therefore, taking a “lenient view” the court ordered, “Both the accused persons are hereby sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment of 3 years and also liable to pay fine of Rs. 5,000/- each. In case of non-deposit of the fine, they will also undergo simple imprisonment of seven days”.

“This is the minimum sentence which the court can impose upon the accused persons as per law”, the court added.

Case Title: Enforcement of Directorate vs. Raj Kumar & Another

Statue: The Prevention of Money Laundering Act