J&K government’s plea against HC’s verdict in FIR case against former SICOP MDs dismissed by SC
ACB's FIR against former SICOP MDs quashed by HC and SC
14-05-2023: The Supreme Court has upheld the Jammu and Kashmir High Court’s verdict to quash FIRs against two former Managing Directors (MDs) of Jammu and Kashmir Small Scale Industries Development Corporation (SICOP). The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had registered FIRs against the former MDs, B S Dua and J S Dua, under the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120-B of RPC. However, the High Court dismissed the FIRs, stating that neither the FIR nor the record provided any evidence of a criminal conspiracy by the former MDs.
The J&K government had filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the High Court’s decision, but the Supreme Court upheld the verdict and dismissed the SLP. The bench of Justice A S Bopanna and Justice Sanjay Karol observed that in the “facts and circumstances of the instant case, we see no reason to interfere with the judgment impugned.”
The FIRs were registered after the ACB found that Jasvinder Singh Dua had a sudden rise in his service career, rising to the post of MD SICOP within 16 years. The FIR indicated that Dua had initially been appointed in SICOP as JE on an ad-hoc basis and was later regularised by the then MD. However, the High Court observed that the appointment and regularisation of Jasvinder Singh Dua had been made by an officer other than petitioner Bopinder Singh Dua. The court noted that none of the appointments in SICOP during that relevant point of time had been made by advertising the posts.
The High Court had observed that the record indisputably showed that Jasvinder Singh Dua had been appointed in SICOP initially on an adhoc basis and subsequently got regularised and promoted from time to time like other appointees in the SICOP. The court had further noted that neither the FIR nor the record indicated any criminal conspiracy by the petitioners. As a result, the High Court had quashed the FIRs.
The Supreme Court has upheld the High Court’s decision, leaving the question of law open if it arises. The verdict will come as a relief to the former MDs of SICOP who had been accused of wrongdoing by the ACB.
