For causing Rs 1.02 crore loss to Maharashtra undertaking
A special CBI court here has convicted and sentenced a private firm owner to four years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed Rs 12 lakh as fine for causing a loss of Rs 1.02 crore to the state-run Handicraft & Handloom Export Corporation of India ltd (HHEC).
After hearing a case filed by the CBI based on a complaint by the HHEC, the Special judge for the CBI cases in Mumbai held Sanjiv Ramesh Sharma, the Proprietor of private firm Messrs Surbhi Enterprises, guilty of not following the procedures and causing a loss to the State undertaking to the tune of Rs 1.02 crore.
The court, however, acquitted the then In-charge (Deputy Marketing Manager) of HHEC in Mumbai for lack of sufficient evidence against him.
Acting on a complaint from the New Delhi-based HHEC, the CBI had registered a case against Sharma, proprietor of the private firm, and the then in-charge (Deputy Marketing Manager) of the state undertaking in Mumbai, on the allegations that the public servant released payment to the private firm, without following proper procedure. The other allegation was that the payment released by HHEC had been fraudulently misused.
After investigations, the CBI filed a charge sheet against Sharma and in-charge deputy manager of the HHEC under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 420 (cheating) and 120-B (conspiracy) on March 31, 2006.