In 1997, the CBI filed a criticism in opposition to a health care provider at Delhi’s GB Pant Hospital, accusing him of coming into right into a prison conspiracy with a director of an organization with the intention to cheat the hospital of Rs 6.8 crore in 1990.
The CBI acknowledged that 32 indents (official requests for items) have been positioned by the hospital with out there being a requirement, and fraudulent certificates have been issued to the corporate – BL Advertising Service Non-public Restricted – to keep away from the open tender course of. In addition to, the tools was allegedly procured at an exorbitant value by the hospital.
On June 7, 27 years later, a Delhi court docket acquitted all three – the physician, the agency director, and the corporate itself – calling the investigation of the CBI “superficial”.
By doing so, the decide on the Rouse Avenue court docket disposed of maybe the oldest pending corruption case in Central Delhi’s trial courts.
Nevertheless, justice got here just a little too late for the physician: Dr OP Jain died in 2020. The corporate director, Sunil Aggarwal, has been out on bail.
Pulling up the CBI, the court docket of Particular Decide Bhupinder Singh famous that there was nothing on document to recommend that the tools procured have been obtainable at a cheaper price elsewhere. The court docket additional mentioned that not one of the witnesses examined by the prosecution acknowledged that the procured tools was not acquired or utilized by the hospital. “…no witness examined by the prosecution might throw gentle as to how the prosecution got here to the conclusion that the tools/articles have been bought at increased costs,” the court docket added.
The court docket mentioned the FIR was filed “with out aiming to achieve at any simply conclusion” years after the alleged offence passed off, which eradicated the potential of getting any proof.
The court docket additional mentioned the function of a number of individuals concerned within the course of was not investigated by the company.
Decide Bhupinder mentioned the destiny of the case was sealed by the style by which it was being investigated.
Oldest corruption case in Central Delhi?
Outdoors the courtrooms of assorted judges in Rouse Avenue in Central Delhi is a listing which reveals the progress of the oldest circumstances, that are to be disposed of by the top of 2024. On a paper caught on the wall subsequent to the doorway of Decide Bhupinder’s room, have been the phrases “CBI vs Dr OP Jain” with the comment “disposed” written subsequent to it with a blue gel pen.
In keeping with knowledge obtainable on the Nationwide Judicial Datagrid (NJDG) web site, 121 prison circumstances (0.1% of all pending prison circumstances) have been pending for the final 20 to 30 years in Central Delhi. Together with Rouse Avenue, Tis Hazari Courts (Central) has the jurisdiction of all circumstances in Central Delhi.
Going by the data, the case in opposition to Dr Jain and Aggarwal was maybe the oldest pending corruption case in Central Delhi’s trial courts which was disposed of.