VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, March 26: The next 48 hours are going to be the tense moment for former HRD minister and Mandar MLA Bandhu Tirkey as the special CBI court is expected to deliver the judgment in the disproportionate asset case in which he is an accused.
His political career depends upon the judgment in this case. An Assembly official said that as per the apex court’s ruling, a legislator is disqualified if he or she is sentenced to two years or more in jail.
The special court of PK Sinha of Ranchi Civil Court is expected to deliver the judgment on Monday. The case RC 5 (A)/ 2010 was lodged against him by the CBI for possessing disproportionate assets worth Rs 6.28 Lakh. During the trial, the CBI produced 21 witnesses whereas Bandhu Titkey produced eight witnesses to prove his innocence. The investigation and the trial of this case always kept him on the tenterhook.
In 2008, petitioner Durga Oraon filed a PIL before the Jharkhand High Court to seek a probe of the assets of the then chief minister Madhu Koda and his cabinet ministers. After the High Court’s ruling, the CBI took up the investigation from the Vigilance Bureau. It registered cases in 2010 against Koda and his ministers. An inspector rank official of the CBI, SS Pari was asked to investigate the case of Bandhu Tirkey.
In March 2013, the CBI filed a closure report before the court. The agency apparently considered the value of disproportionate assets very low. The CBI submitted that the disproportionate assets were only 30 percent excess of the actual earnings of Bandhu Tirkey during the check period of 2005 and 2009.
But the special CBI court of AK Mishra rejected the closure report. The court said that there is no such precedent and there is no law that states a case will be investigated only if disproportionate assets were above 30 percent. Bandhu Tirkey even challenged the court order but after a prolonged legal battle, he did not get any relief. The CBI freshly investigated the case and charges were framed against him in January 2019.
