RANCHI: The Special CBI Court in Ranchi awarded a three-year jail term to former Jharkhand Human Resource Development Minister Bandhu Tirkey and imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh in a disproportionate assets case. According to the CBI, Tirkey collected assets worth Rs 6.28 lakh more than his known sources of income while being a minister in the Madhu Koda government during 2005-2009.
“The court of Special Judicial Commissioner and CBI Prabhat Kumar Sharma awarded him three years of rigorous imprisonment. The court has found him guilty under various sections of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act,” said his lawyer Shambhu Agrawal. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh, he added.
With this, Tirkey is likely to lose his membership in the Jharkhand Assembly as he stands disqualified under the Representation of People Act and in the light of the Supreme Court’s judgment.
As per the law, if a public representative is convicted with a minimum of two years of imprisonment, he or she shall lose membership and is also disqualified from contesting elections.
A case was lodged against him by the CBI for possessing disproportionate assets worth Rs 6.28 lakh.
During the trial, the CBI produced 21 witnesses whereas eight witnesses were produced from the defence side to prove his innocence. The investigation and trial in this case kept him on tenterhooks.
The case was lodged in 2008 after petitioner Durga Oraon filed a PIL in the Jharkhand High Court seeking a probe of the assets of the then Chief Minister Madhu Koda and his cabinet ministers. After the High Court’s ruling, the CBI took up the investigation from the Vigilance Bureau. It registered cases in 2010 against Koda and his ministers.
In March 2013, the CBI filed a closure report before the court. The agency apparently considered the value of disproportionate assets very low. The CBI submitted that the disproportionate assets were only 30 percent excess of the actual earnings of Bandhu Tirkey during the period of 2005 to 2009.
But the special CBI court of AK Mishra rejected the closure report. The court said that there is no such precedent and there is no law that states a case will be investigated only if disproportionate assets were above 30 percent.
Bandhu Tirkey challenged the court order but even after a prolonged legal battle, he did not get any relief. The CBI investigated the case afresh and charges were framed against him in January 2019.