Haryana: CBI court jails 3 excise officials for 4 years in corruption case
The convicted officials were found guilty under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
A special CBI court in Panchkula has sentenced three central excise officials to four years of rigorous imprisonment in a 2017 corruption case.
The convicted officials—Anil Kumar, Ajay Kumar (both superintendents), and inspector Ravinder Singh Dahiya—were found guilty under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The trio were part of the central excise audit department in Murthal.
The case was registered on February 19, 2017, following a complaint by Deepak Jain, proprietor of Precision Components (P) Ltd., located in HSIIDC Industrial Estate, Rai, Sonepat. Jain alleged that the accused demanded a bribe of ₹10 lakh to adjust and minimise a duty/penalty amounting to ₹25-30 lakh, which was imposed for double billing and evasion of excise duty on scrap and overstock. After negotiations, the bribe amount was reduced to ₹9 lakh, with Anil Kumar also demanding a mobile phone.
Acting on the complaint, a CBI team laid a trap at Jain’s factory on February 20, 2017. When the three accused arrived in a car and took Jain for a drive, he confirmed handing over the bribe money to their team leader. The CBI officials immediately moved in to arrest them. Ravinder Singh Dahiya attempted to escape but was apprehended on the spot, and the bribe money was recovered from his vehicle.
The CBI filed a chargesheet against the accused on July 3, 2017. During the trial, the complainant turned hostile, but the court, after reviewing the evidence and arguments presented by senior CBI prosecutor Harsh Mohan Singh, convicted the accused.
On March 4, the court sentenced Anil Kumar, Ajay Kumar, and Ravinder Singh Dahiya to three years of imprisonment under Section 120-B IPC read with Section 7, 13(1)(d), and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. They were also sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 13(1)(d) of the Act. Additionally, fines ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹50,000 were imposed on them. The court ruled that the sentences will run concurrently.
