BENGALURU: A section officer of the Karnataka High Court, who has allegedly cheated the court of Rs 20 lakh, will have to spend more time in jail. The High Court, after considering the seriousness of the offence, dismissed his bail plea recently.
The accused is Jayaram Naik S (44), a section officer of Accounts Branch-1 of the High Court. He had allegedly prepared a bill through a clerk without obtaining necessary permission from the Chief Justice of the High Court as well as the court’s finance committee, which is necessary to get the cheque from the Treasury.
After drawing the money, Naik allegedly settled his loans payable to six individuals, a finance company, a cooperative society, a jewellery shop, Life Insurance Corporation, Apex Bank and the High Court employees’ society. He also gave some money to his daughter to buy jewellery and bought a television worth Rs 30,000.
Naik, a resident of Ittamadu, was booked for six offences including criminal breach of trust, forgery of record of court, possessing counterfeit seal with intent to commit forgery, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property.
According to Vidhana Soudha police, Naik had allegedly got a bill of Rs 20 lakh prepared by a case worker, a second division assistant, and withdrew the money after the bill had been signed by him and Deputy Registrar C M Chandrashekar on May 9, 2013.
However, no entry was found about the withdrawal of money in the cheque encashment register maintained by the High Court. He allegedly prepared the bill on the pretext of payment of postal stamps in the franking machine. But the bill was not prepared in the name of the Post Master General for payment towards franking machine charges.
The investigation also revealed that such payments were never made in cash but always through a cheque or a demand draft. However, Naik had allegedly deviously prepared a bill to the Treasury and obtained the cheque in favour of the High Court Registrar General, Justice Anand Byrareddy, who dismissed the bail plea, observed that there was ample material to implicate Naik notwithstanding that there may have been other higher officials involved and Naik having been taken into custody 19 months ago.
The case is being heard by the 4th ACMM court.