High Court Quashes Misappropriation Charges Against Assistant Director, CAPD Ramesh Chander

High Court Quashes Misappropriation Charges Against Assistant Director, CAPD Ramesh Chander

The High Court has quashed charges of misappropriation of funds against Assistant Director of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) department, Ramesh Chander. The court directed the trial court to proceed with the trial against the remaining accused persons.

Observations of the High Court

After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Mohan Lal noted that there was no evidence presented in the impugned order to establish how the petitioner (Ramesh Chander) had conspired with other accused individuals to prepare or manipulate fake official records dishonestly and fraudulently. The alleged misappropriation of food grains and sugar, valued at Rs 74,07,370, was attributed to the principal accused, Babu Ram, who was the then in-charge storekeeper in Udhampur.

The High Court pointed out that the prosecution had not provided sufficient details about which prosecution witnesses had stated before the investigating officer regarding the criminal conspiracy and the preparation of fake official records by the petitioner. Furthermore, the petitioner, Ramesh Chander, had served as the Assistant Director of CAPD Udhampur for only three months, from May 4, 2010, to August 4, 2010. The incident in question occurred on August 5, 2010, when the then Assistant Director reported a shortage of food grains and sugar in the Udhampur food store and a committee submitted a report implicating the in-charge storekeeper, Babu Ram, for the loss to the state exchequer.

High Court’s Decision

The High Court concluded that there were insufficient grounds to proceed against the petitioner, Ramesh Chander, in the case. As a result, the petition was allowed, and the charges framed against the petitioner on July 30, 2013, were quashed. The interim order of the court dated August 22, 2013, staying the proceedings in the trial court was also vacated. The trial would continue against the remaining accused individuals.

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