Mohali: Ex-HPCL official gets 3-yr jail in disproportionate assets case
Convict Abhinav Sethi, 42, of Chandigarh has also been fined ₹1 lakh fine. He reportedly amassed assets worth ₹28.11 lakh from June 14, 2008 till May 31, 2012, while being employed at an LPG retail outlet of the HPCL.
A special CBI court in Mohali awarded three-year rigorous imprisonment to a former sales officer of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) in Chandigarh in connection with a disproportionate asset case registered against him in 2016.
Convict Abhinav Sethi, 39, of Chandigarh was also fined ₹1 lakh fine. Sethi, who reportedly amassed assets worth ₹28.11 lakh from June 14, 2008, till May 31, 2012, while being employed at an LPG retail outlet of the HPCL, prayed for leniency in the court, claiming that he is aged 39 and has an eight-year-old son studying in Oman. He also mentioned that since HPCL terminated his services, he and his wife had been working in Oman, and he had no previous conviction.
He also averred that he showed good conduct during the course of trial. Seeking a lenient view from the court, the convict further mentioned that his parents were aged around 80.
But CBI prosecutor Anmol Narang sought maximum punishment, contending that the convict was holding a prominent post and he must be aware of the consequences of the acts done by him.
Special CBI judge Rakesh Kumar Gupta, while awarding the jail term to Sethi, observed, “It is not disputed that the convict is having a young chap of 8 years, studying in Oman. The wife of the accused is earning livelihood there by working as a counsellor in a school. His parents are around 80 years of age. The charges under Section 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, are prior to the amendment of 2014 wherein the minimum sentence was one year. Keeping in view the plea raised by the convict, his antecedents, nature of offence proved against him and other circumstances of the case in the light of above judgments, a lenient view is taken in the award of the sentence.”
Earlier, the defence lawyer denied the allegations. CBI public prosecutor Anmol Narang had argued that Sethi failed to justify his assets as per his income and amassed 83.2% assets as compared to his income in the said period.
Sethi had been reportedly taking money from petrol pump dealers and thus incurred more assets than his income. The accused was booked on June 28, 2016, following the complaint of Chandigarh CBI DSP RS Gunjiyal. After the CBI filed the chargesheet against the accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the special court framed charges against him in February 2018. While the defence examined 44 witnesses, the prosecution examined 20 witnesses.
