Update: HC quashes proceedings against lawyer Sharma and Chartered Accountant Chaurasia

Justice P S Dinesh Kumar on July 2, 2019 quashed the proceedings against Sharma and Chaurasia while allowing the petitions filed by them.  

BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court quashed the criminal proceedings pending before the Special Court for CBI Cases in city against lawyer Satish Chand Sharma and chartered accountant Krishna Chaurasia, in relation to alleged bribing of senior Income Tax officials.  

Justice P S Dinesh Kumar on July 2, 2019 quashed the proceedings against Sharma and Chaurasia while allowing the petitions filed by them.  

The CBI registered FIR alleging that accused Sharma, a practicing lawyer offered to resolve some income tax matters pertaining to accused Krishna Chaurasia, who was managing and controlling Shanti Pan Masala Pvt Ltd and few other firms, and allegedly collected Rs 95 lakh, including Rs 30 lakh in Kolkata, Rs 30 lakh in Chennai and Rs 35 lakh in Bengaluru. In this process, the CBI officials apprehended three accused persons and had prayed the court to take conginsance of offences under the provisions of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act.

"It is clear that the accused are three private persons. CBI has recorded that no case pertaining to Krishna Chaurasia, accused no.2, was pending in any one of three places namely Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru. In any event, it is a financial transaction between three private persons. In the circumstances, the registeration of FIR by the CBI to investigate into any offences and conducting any investigation thereon is clearly abuse of process of law. Resultantly, the petitions merit consideration and they are accordingly allowed", Justice Dinesh Kumar said while quashing the proceedings pending before the Principal Special Judge for CBI cases, Bengaluru, against the petitioners.  

The accused petitioners moved the High Court contending that all three accused are private persons and therefore not amenable to the jurisdiction of CBI to investigate into any offence under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act. He also pointed out that no case pertaining to Krishna Chaurasia was pending with any income tax office either in Kolkata, Chennai or in Bengaluru. In this background of the facts, registeration of FIR by the CBI amounts to abuse of process of law, he argued.

The CBI counsel did not dispute the facts narrated by the counsel of the petitioners.

The above story is an update to the article below:

BENGALURU: Sadashiva S Sultanpuri, Principal Special Judge for CBI cases, rejected the bail applications of all the four accused recently. The accused are Satish Chand Sharma, Krishna Chaurasia, Vinod Kumar Banka and Sanjay Kohli. “In a modern world with advanced technology, the accused are well versed with the matters and as such there is every possibility of tampering with witnesses if they are released on bail,” the judge said.

They approached the CBI court for bail, claiming that they are innocent. Sharma claimed he was a lawyer and the complaint is baseless whereas Banka and Kohli contended that they had appeared before the investigation officer in Bengaluru after receiving notices and that they had cooperated. The claimed that no cognizable offence had been made out against them in the source report by CBI. However, the judge observed that Sharma being an advocate collected money illegally in order to induce public servants by illegal means in order to clarify the income tax documents of Chaurasia.

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