New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) A court here has issued summons to former Rajya Sabha member Brajesh Pathak in connection with a leave travel concession (LTC) case.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna issued summons to Pathak to appear before the court on March 24.
Delhi-based firm Vandna Travels Private Limited and its director Rajesh Agnihotri have also been summoned.
The court order came while taking cognizance of the CBI chargesheet filed against the company and its director on January 2.
However, the investigating agency did not chargesheet Pathak, saying there was no evidence against him.
But the judge rejected the agency's submission and said: "It is the duty of the investigating officer to forward the final report to the court and no discretion or prerogative lies with the investigative officer to evaluate the defence pleas or to assess the evidence collected on record to appreciate the defence pleas.
"The concept and scheme of Section 13 (1) (d) (criminal misconduct by a public servant for obtaining peculinary gain) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 is clear and all the ingredients of the offence are complete in the present case," the court said in its February 20 order.
"Therefore, I hold that investigating officer has no basis to file closure with respect to the offences of Section 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and read with Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code concerning Brajesh Pathak," the court said.
The court observed that Pathak, being a public servant, was under bound duty to furnish the correct and genuine claim with respect to the journeys undertaken by him and the amounts spent by him.
It noted that Pathak countersigned the forged e-tickets to gain pecuniary advantage and the offence was complete when the reimbursement was credited to his account.
The allegations were that during the period 2011-2013, Pathak entered into criminal conspiracy with private people and wrongly claimed inflated reimbursement for eight companion tickets from the pay and accounts office at the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to the tune of Rs.2,19,887.
The actual payment made against the said eight companion tickets was Rs.10,499, and accordingly the excess amount to the tune of Rs.2,09,338 was claimed from the government, it added.
Pathak's tenure as Rajya Sabha member ended on November 25, 2014.
Dawood Ibrahim The news of the poisoning of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who was hiding in Paki
Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has undergone knee surgery. He is currently rest
Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra will start on December 28 in West Bengal. The yatra in the state wil
Hollywood actor Robert De Niro has recently become the father of the seventh child. The actor him
Can't implement Swaminathan report: Haryana minister
Gurgaon, Feb 27 (IANS) Haryana Agriculture Minister O.P. Dhankar Friday said he was not in a po
UP Lawyer Killed in Shahjahanpur: A major incident has been seen in the Shahjahanpur district of
PM Modi Gujarat Visit: PM Modi said - India's steel industry is now the world's largest
Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel Plant: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (October 28) laid the f
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that the picture of new India is a confluence of bo
Samay Raina's fun update on the return of India Got Latent, also announced a comeback tour.
Famous comedian Samay Raina is once again in the headlines. Recently, a question from the paparaz
Vivo X60 Pro Plus will be launched today, the phone is equipped with the latest OriginOS 1.0 OS
Chinese smartphone company Vivo is going to launch its new X60 smartphone Vivo X60 Pro + today. T
