U'khand HC upholds jail terms to ex-Income Tax officer, others in disproportionate assets case

A single bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani upheld the ruling by Special Judge Prevention of Corruption (CBI), Dehradun, on February 13, 2019, sentencing Shwetabh Suman to seven years imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 3.70 crore. The CBI court had also sentenced Suman's mother for one year, brother-in-law, two friends for four years each.

Nainital: The Uttarakhand High Court has upheld the sentences of former Income Tax officer Shwetabh Suman and his family members in a disproportionate assets case.

A single bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani upheld the ruling by Special Judge Prevention of Corruption (CBI), Dehradun, on February 13, 2019, sentencing Shwetabh Suman to seven years imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 3.70 crore. The CBI court had also sentenced Suman's mother for one year, brother-in-law, two friends for four years each.

Suman, a 1998 batch IAS officer, was booked by the CBI in 2005 for amassing illegal wealth on the basis of an anonymous complaint letter. In 2015, the CBI raided fourteen premises owned by Suman when he was working as Joint Commissioner. In the investigation, the CBI found 337 per cent disproportionate assets with his property amassed in Ghaziabad, Jharkhand, Bihar and Dehradun. As per the investigators, Suman had registered the property in the name of his mother and brother-in-law. He had also financed a Honda City car in Delhi in the name of his mother Gulabo Devi.

In the CBI investigation, it also came to light that Suman had registered Arvind Society on the pretext of helping the poor, but transferred donations from people to the account of his wife and mother.

In the CBI court, 255 witnesses were also presented on behalf of the prosecution and eight from the defence side. Suman had appealed to the High Court to reverse the CBI ruling.