High Court acquits LP Tewari in DA case

GANGTOK, 11 Aug: The Sikkim High Court has quashed the conviction and sentence passed by the Special Judge, Prevention of Corruption Act, East and North Sikkim at Gangtok, and acquitted former Secretary-cum-Chief Engineer Laxmi Prasad Tewari of corruption charges and released him from bail today.  `The single bench of the High Court comprising Justice SP Wangdi, while acquitting the former Power Department Secretary, observed that the appellant [Mr. Tewari] at the end of the check period was found to have been in possession of assets much lesser than the income earned by him during the check period, hence, the charge of the prosecution against the Appellant under Section 13(1)(e) read with Section 13(2) of the Act of 1988 corresponding to Section 5(1)(e) read with Section 5(2) of the Act of 1947, for being in possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income fails.
Mr. Tewari was convicted by the Special Court in a disproportionate assets case and sentenced to one year imprisonment with fine of Rs. 10,000 [and on default of payment of fine, a further six months of simple imprisonment].