Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh High Court today handed out a two years rigorous imprisonment sentence to a panchayat pradhan for misappropriation of public money.
The division bench of Justice Surjit Singh and Justice Rajiv Sharma announced the quantum of sentence in a case wherein it was established that Anil Kumar, a panchayat pradhan of Kotla Chillian panchayat, in his capacity of elected representative during 1998-99 had misused Rs 65,000 public funds and had also cheated the government by misrepresenting to its functionaries to release grant-in-aid.
“So we see no reason to show any leniency to him,†the judges observed before pronouncing the sentence.
Charged under section 409 IPC, the judges fined the convicted pradhan Rs 50,000 and two years of rigorous imprisonment.
Under another offence of fraud (420 IPC) the court sentenced the pradhan to a years term of rigorous imprisonment and Rs 10,000 fine.
In case the convicted pradhan defaults in payment of the fine, the jail term could extend by another 6 months.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
