DA case: HC refuses to quash charge sheet against Maya min
The Allahabad high court on Friday refused to quash the charge sheet filed against former minister in BSP government Rakesh Dhar Tripathi in disproportionate assets case. The court asked Tripathi to surrender within 30 days and apply for bail while directing the police not to take any coercive measure against him. Tripathi was higher education minister in the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government from 2007 to 2012. The order was passed by the bench comprising justice Tarun Agarwala and justice Vipin Sinha while hearing a petition filed by Tripathi.
ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad high court on Friday refused to quash the charge sheet filed against former minister in BSP government Rakesh Dhar Tripathi in disproportionate assets case.
The court asked Tripathi to surrender within 30 days and apply for bail while directing the police not to take any coercive measure against him.
Tripathi was higher education minister in the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government from 2007 to 2012.
The order was passed by the bench comprising justice Tarun Agarwala and justice Vipin Sinha while hearing a petition filed by Tripathi.
The charge sheet was filed against him in the court of special judge (prevention of corruption), Varanasi.
During hearing, the applicant said the action being taken against him was mala fide and politically motivated.
The applicant’s counsel argued that Tripathi’s income had been wrongly computed and the explanation given by him was overlooked.
Had computation of income been done properly, there would have been no evidence to support charges against Tripathi, he said.
The counsel for state government argued that at this stage, the court could not go into the veracity of the evidence submitted by the investigating agency.
Refusing to quash charge sheet against Tripathi, the bench observed, “This court does not deem it fit to grant any indulgence to the applicant in exercise of its inherent powers of the court under Section 482 CrPC.”
A case was registered against the former minister in 2013 under the Prevention of Corruption Act at Mutthiganj police station in Allahabad.
According to the FIR, Tripathi had amassed huge property disproportionate to his known sources of income during his tenure as cabinet minister.
The vigilance department found that his income from known sources was Rs 45 lakh between 2011 and 2013 while he owned property worth Rs 122 crore.
On the basis of vigilance report, the state government granted permission for prosecution. The governor gave his nod for legal proceedings against the former minister on February 15, 2016.