Former J'khand minister Bandhu Tirkey gets three-year jail term for possessing DA worth Rs 7.22 lakh
India Today
Former Jharkhand minister Bandhu Tirkey has been awarded a three-year jail term for possessing disproportionate assets worth Rs 7.22 lakh when he was a minister in the state during 2005-2009.
The Special Judge, CBI Cases, Ranchi on Monday sentenced Mandar MLA Bandhu Tirkey, a former Minister in the Bihar government, to three years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 3 lakh for possessing disproportionate assets (DA) to the tune of Rs 7.22 lakh.
The CBI had filed the case against Tirkey in 2010 for allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during his first stint as MLA between 2005 and 2009. Tirkey had served as the Education Minister in the then Madhu Koda government of the Congress.
Tirkey's counsel, S Agrawal, said that he will move higher court against the conviction.
"He has been granted bail as his sentence is three years," Agrawal said, referring to CrPC Section 389.
As per Section 389 (3) of the CrPC, a trial court can grant bail to a convicted accused, enabling him to appeal to a higher court given that he is sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years.
In 2013, CBI had filed a charge sheet against Tirkey, but urged the court to close the case as the value of the disproportionate assets unearthed was low -- Rs 6.28 lakh.
The court rejected the agency's stand and took cognisance of the offence, starting the trial.
