CBI Court Sentences Former Chief Secretary To 5-Year Jail

A CBI special judge on Wednesday sentenced former chief secretary (CS) of Jharkhand Sajal Chakravarty to five-year imprisonment in a fodder scam case (RC 20A/96). The case is related to fraudulent withdrawal of around Rs 37 crores from Chaibasa district treasury in Jharkhand.

CBI judge Sambhu Lal Shaw ordered five-year jail term for the former CS and imposed fine of Rs 4 lakh on him under sections 120B, 420, 409, 468, 471 and 477 of Indian Penal Code. He also sentenced the CS to five-year imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 4 lakh under section 13 (2), read with 13 (1) (C) (D) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Defense lawyer Arvind Kumar Mitra said both the prison terms will run concurrently. He added the CS has to undergo one-year additional term, in case he fails to pay the fines. The CBI court had pronounced the former CS guilty under various sections of IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act on November 14.

During the argument on term of sentence on Wednesday, senior public prosecutor of CBI, BMP Singh pleaded before the court that as the matter is related to corruption the convict should be given the strictest sentence to send a message to society on the issue.

Mitra argued that the former CS be awarded minimum sentence on humanitarian grounds while citing the latter’s health, character and family background. He informed the court that Sajal has undergone heart surgery and has had five stent implants in his heart. He is suffering from acute diabetes and also has knee problem. The former CS has also undergone surgery for shortening of his stomach and for hernia.

Sajal served as the chief secretary of Jharkhand under former chief minister Hemant Soren and current CM Raghubar Das.