BENGALURU: The special court for Lokayukta cases sentenced former MD of the Karnataka Council for Technological Upgradation (KCTU) V Muniyappa, who is 72 years old, to three-year rigorous imprisonment and a fine of whopping Rs 4.50 crore in a disproportionate assets case.
Special court Judge KM Radhakrishna passed the order, sentencing the accused for offences punishable under Sec 13(2) read with 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act as he was found possessing disproportionate assets of Rs 4.13 crore during the check period 1982 to 2014, the year in which the complaint was registered.
Despite the prosecution’s successful attempt to prove the accused guilty, the judge said, “I am to notice the serious investigation lapses on the part of Lokayukta. The investigation officer (IO), TV Manjunath, committed blunders as detailed in the judgment, exposing not only his negligence, but also ignoring investigation into many assets and his failure to collect the related evidence.
This kind of conscious lapses not only helps the real culprits to escape, but also ends the cases in acquittal. These lapses are because of the lack of time-to-time supervision, scrutiny and control over the investigation by the superiors concerned. These kinds of lapses have become common in the majority of cases as observed by this court.”
Listing out the lapses of the Lokayukta police, he stated that unnecessary delay in investigation, entrustment of the investigation responsibility in a single case to multiple officers and deciding the quality of probe depending on the background, position and societal status of the true culprits, is another face of destroying the evidence.
Prosecution witnesses -- Assistant Director of Statistics, Kantharaju, Assistant Director of Agriculture Nagaraju S, Assistant Director of Horticulture Narayana Swamy and G the Motor Vehicle Inspector Vasudev -- misled the court.
The judge sought an explanation from the erring officials, including the IO and prosecution witnesses, as to why disciplinary action should not be recommended against them.