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Senior Mumbai Congress leader Kripashankar Singh has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay high court direction for his prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act and attachment of his immovable properties in a case of alleged disproportionate assets.
On February 22, the High Court, after holding that prima facie case of criminal misconduct is made out against the Mumbai leader, ordered his prosecution.
"The Commissioner of Police Arup Patnaik shall obtain sanction from the government to prosecute Kripashankar Singh for criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The role of other respondents (Kripashankar's family) shall also be investigated into," a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Roshan Dalvi said.
The bench had said Patnaik shall collect documentary evidence regarding all movable and immovable properties of Kripashankar and his family, including his wife, son and daughter-in-law, who will also be prosecuted for aiding in the alleged crime.
"We can easily conclude prima facie that a cognizable offence is disclosed against Kripashankar Singh. It need not detain us to conclude that such investigation is of common nature and need not even be specifically directed by the court but should have been undertaken by the investigating agencies like the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) themselves as public officers," the court said.
Expressing astonishment at Kripashankar's "rags-to-riches" story, the court said "he started from scratch in 1970s. Until 1998 when he became MLA, nothing is shown to have been acquired by him.
"He is shown to have earned as MLA a salary of Rs 45,000 per month and in that salary has amassed more than dozen immovable properties. His assets are shown to be 11.69 per cent disproportionate to his known source of income. Such calculation would beat not just out arithmetic but also our conscience."
The high court passed the direction while hearing a public interest litigation filed by activist Sanjay Tiwari who alleged the Congress MLA had amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The court, while keeping the PIL pending, has directed the commissioner of police to file a compliance report on April 19.
Tiwari has alleged in the petition that Singh had been close to former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda who is currently in jail for alleged involvement in a multi-crore hawala scam. He alleged several monetary transactions had taken place between them.
Singh's son Narendra Mohan is married to Ankita, daughter of Kamlesh Singh, who was a minister in the Koda cabinet, and is now in jail in connection with the hawala scam.
According to the PIL, Ankita had received Rs 1.75 crore in her account from Kamlesh while there were huge transactions from the bank accounts of Kripashankar's wife Malti Devi too.