The Hindu : New Delhi News : Corruption is not an ordinary crime: Court

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Saturday, Nov 10, 2007
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New Delhi

Corruption is not an ordinary crime: Court

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has refused to suspend the sentence of an accused who was awarded a five-year imprisonment by a trial court here in a corruption case, observing that corruption could not be considered an ordinary crime.

The accused, Ashwini Kumar Arora, has come in an appeal against the trial court judgment. He had sought suspension of the sentence and grant of bail till the disposal of the appeal. The trial court had convicted him for forgery and cheating for duping some of the 1984 riot victims here of their compensation amounts by opening accounts in the names of fictitious riot victims and transferring the compensation amounts to them which were finally pocketed by him.

“The instant case reveals a painful and disturbing trend of corrupt persons who did not even spare the riot victims whose near and dear ones were killed,” Justice Dhingra observed.

Rejecting the plea of the appellant, the Court said: “Keeping in view the act of the appellant of indulging in cheating and forgery to deprive the riot victims of the compensations, it is not a fit case for suspension of the sentence.”

“Not the absolute right”

Commenting on the provision for suspension of sentence under Section 389 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Justice Dhingra said: “Suspension of sentence during pendency of an appeal is not the absolute right of the convict. The discretion to suspend sentence vests in the court and it is required to be exercised judicially keeping view all the facts and circumstances and the nature of offences.”

“The court has to exercise this discretion with utmost care and caution, balancing one’s rights and liberties on the one hand and the interests of society on the other,” Justice Dhingra observed.

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