Ghaziabad: A special CBI court has convicted and sentenced a 70-year-old man to four months and 24 days in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh for conspiring with bank officials to commit a car loan fraud worth Rs 5 lakh, 26 years ago. Acting on a plea bargain application filed by him, the special judge (anti-corruption) awarded him a sentence equivalent to the time already spent in custody, on the condition that he repay the loan amount.The court decided the sentence based on a mutually satisfactory disposition under which the accused, victim, prosecutor and investigating officer work together to reach an agreement. It then formalises it to resolve the matter without a full trial.According to the prosecution, Harpal Singh Ahuja had conspired with officials from Allahabad Bank to acquire a loan of Rs 4.9 lakh in 2000 and failed to repay. On April 12, the following year, the assistant general manager of the Karol Bagh branch, RN Mehra, filed a written complaint with the deputy inspector general of police (CBI/EOW-II) that at the Noida Sector 10 branch, SK Agrawal, a manager authorised to sanction car loans and housing or consumer loans up to Rs 5 lakh, had sanctioned more than Rs 1 crore to 33 persons. The complaint said 12 loans amounting to Rs 45.5 lakh remained unpaid. He alleged that Agrawal, in a criminal conspiracy with a man, Pradeep Gupta, and others like Ahuja, had misappropriated the funds.CBI registered the case on April 27, 2001, conducted an investigation and submitted a charge sheet against Agrawal and other persons, including Ahuja, on April 4, 2005. Ahuja was charged under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with 420 (cheating and dishonesty) IPC and Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.He, however, remained absconding during the trial, leading to his file being separated, and judgment was delivered for the rest of the accused. After Ahuja skipped trial, a non-bailable warrant was issued for him. He was arrested on March 13 this year and sent to the district jail. He then filed an application, supported by an affidavit, seeking disposal of the case through the plea-bargaining provisions under CrPC, 1973.Special judge (anti-corruption) CBI Avinash Kumar Pandey said Ahuja was being convicted for the offences based on the mutually satisfactory disposition arrived at under the plea-bargaining provisions. The court also considered the age and health of Ahuja and noted that he is 70 years old and suffering from hypertension, high blood pressure, heart disease, hernia and severe knee issues. He has no independent source of livelihood and is dependent on his family members, with whom he stays in Mumbai, and they are willing to repay the borrowed amount.
