A trial court in Chhattisgarh accepted the closure report filed by the EOW-ACB as no case of disproportionate assets could be made out against Aman Singh, who served as Principal Secretary to former Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh, and his wife.
This comes as a major victory for the former IRS official.
The relief for Aman Singh and his wife Dr Yasmin Singh comes on the back of the EOW-ACB’s failure to substantiate the charges against them in a disproportionate assets case.
An FIR was lodged against him on orders of former Congress Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, based on claims by RTI activist Uchit Sharma, accusing the couple of amassing unaccounted wealth.
Despite exhaustive investigations over three years, the FIR failed to hold up as the EOW found no evidence supporting the claims, leading to the filing of a closure report. Significantly, the closure report was filed by the EOW in December last year, before the current BJP government took the oath of office in Chhattisgarh.
Noted criminal lawyer and senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, who represented the Singhs, has openly criticised the motives behind the FIR, describing it as a tool for political retribution rather than justice.
“Bhupesh Baghel’s government was one of the most corrupt and vindictive regimes this country has ever seen. They weaponised the FIR to unjustly target Aman Singh, an honest officer, and his wife Yasmin Singh, a renowned artist, forcing them to undergo trials and tribulations for several years. Targeting an officer’s wife was a new low, even by Bhupesh Baghel’s standards. However, justice has finally been served with their discharge by the court,” he said.
The case has also seen judicial scrutiny at various levels, including a notable moment when the Bilaspur High Court quashed the FIR, citing a lack of substantive evidence. However, the Supreme Court later revived the FIR on an appeal by the Congress government of Baghel, saying that a thorough investigation would better serve to maintain public trust and accountability.
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“We quite appreciate that there could be cases of innocent public servants being entangled in investigations arising out of motivated complaints and the consequent mental agony, emotional pain and social stigma that they would have to encounter in the process, but this small price has to be paid if there is to be a society governed by the rule of law,” the apex court had held
