CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has ruled that legal heirs of a government officer, arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, (PCA) and whose properties are attached, shall have to prove with material evidence that the assets were acquired through legal means in order to claim them.
Justice G Jayachandran passed the order while dismissing an appeal filed by legal heirs of an officer whose properties were confiscated by the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption for graft.
Section 18 A inserted through amendment in the PCA empowers the state to confiscate money or property procured by means of an offence under PCA, the judge said.
“So, the death of the public servant will not give any advantage to the appellants (legal heirs) to get back the property without proving the ownership of the property,” he said. The judge noted that the rule for public servant, from whom the property is seized, will also apply to his legal heirs if he dies before the conclusion of the trial.
The confiscation proceedings under Section 18 A will still survive though the prosecution under Section 7 of PCA is not possible due to the death of the public servant, the judge said.
‘If ownership is not proved, property will go to the state’
The judge added that the person, who claims ownership of the properties seized, can prove ownership and get them back either under section 452 or 457 of CrPC. “If nobody claims ownership or fails to prove it was acquired by him legally, then the property must be put at the disposal of the state in exercise of power under Section 458 of CrPC,” the judge said.
Referring to the case on hand, he said, the expectation of the appellants that the property be returned to them as a matter of right applying the law of inheritance is not correct. To claim the property, they have to prove ownership, the judge said.
The appeal was filed by Angayarkanni, her son Haripradeep and daughter Haripriya, seeking return of the properties of her husband, Dhanaraj was working as district environmental engineer with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board when he was caught by the DVAC in 2020.
During searches at his house at Urappakkam, Rs 56.66 lakh, including 2.66 lakh worth demonetised notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, and gold jewelleries were seized. Dhanaraj passed away on May 7, 2021.
The family members had filed the appeal seeking return of the seized properties after their petition was rejected by local court in Tiruvarur.
‘Legality must be proved’
Chennai: Death of a public servant will not give any advantage to the legal heirs. They must prove with evidence that the assets were acquired through legal means, ruled Justice G Jayachandran