LTC scam: Delhi court sentences ex-MP Anil Sahni to 3 yrs in jail

New Delhi [India], September 3 : The Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday passed an order on sentence against former Rajya Sabha MP Anil Kumar Sahni (presently RJD MLA, Bihar) and two others in the Leave Travel Concession (LTC) scam case which was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The Special Judge MK Nagpal on Saturday passed the order on sentence and said, all three convicts namely Anil Kumar Sahani, NS Nair and Arvind Tiwari have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment (RI).
The court in the order directed all three convicts to go to two years rigorous imprisonment for the offence of criminal conspiracy punishable under section 120B r/w 420/471 IPC.
In addition to the above, Sahani has also been held liable to undergo RI for a period of one year for the commission of the offence punishable under section 201 of IPC, one year for the commission of the offence punishable U/S 420 r/w 511 IPC, three years for commission of the offence punishable U/S 471 IPC and one year for the commission of the offence punishable U/S 15 r/w 13 (1) (d) r/w 13 (2) of the PC Act. The court also imposed different amount of fine on all the convicts.
All the sentences of imprisonment imposed upon the convict Anil Kumar Sahani have been directed to run concurrently, whereas fine shall be payable by him separately for each of the said offences, said the court.
However, the sentence(s) of imprisonment imposed upon all the three convicts are suspended to enable them to file appeals and they all are directed to be released on bail on furnishing of a personal bond in the sum of Rs 1 lakh each with one surety of the like amount each till October 6.
The Court recently convicted Anil Kumar Sahni and two others for the offence of criminal conspiracy and commission of the substantive offences in the case.
On the last date, while passing the judgement court had said, "It is held that the prosecution has also been successful in establishing its charge for the said substantive offences as framed against Anil Kumar Sahni. In view of the discussion, all three accused persons Anil Kumar Sahani, NS Nair and Arvind Tiwari are being held guilty and convicted for the offence of criminal conspiracy punishable U/S 120B r/w 420/471 IPC and also r/w Section 13 (1) (d) r/w 13 (2) of the PC Act."
Apart from the above, Anil Kumar Sahni is also being held guilty and convicted for the commission of the substantive offences punishable under Sections 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 420 r/w 511 IPC, 471 IPC as well as under Sections 15 r/w 13 (1) (d) r/w 13 (2) of the PC Act.
Besides Sahani, others named in the CBI charge sheet were Anup Singh Panwar, an employee of Delhi-based Air Cruise Travels Private Limited, NS Nair, then Office Superintendent (Traffic), Air India and Arvind Tiwari, a private person. The charge sheet was filed in the designated CBI court under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Indian Penal Code which included criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and abuse of official position.
According to the CBI, during the investigation, it was found that Sahani in conspiracy with other persons allegedly used forged e-tickets and fake boarding passes to defraud Rajya Sabha to the tune of Rs 23.71 lakh as travel and dearness allowance reimbursement without performing the actual journey.
CBI registered the case in 2013 against Sahani and others on the allegations of claiming reimbursement from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat on the basis of forged air tickets and boarding passes in order to cheat the government. The case was referred to the CBI by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).