No Sanction, No Conviction: Court Acquits Ex-MPSC Officer In Assets Case

Mumbai: The special court designated to conduct the trial in the 2002 MPSC scam on Thursday acquitted Sudhakar Sarode, 76, former undersecretary and controller of examinations with the Maharashtra Public Service Commission, in a disproportionate assets case registered against him in 2006.

Sarode is currently facing trial for his alleged role in the MPSC examination scam. Following registration of the scam case, the Anti-Corruption Bureau initiated an inquiry into the movable and immovable assets held by him, his wife and other relatives. The agency subsequently alleged that he possessed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and registered a separate case.

The prosecution claimed that Sarode earned Rs13.89 lakh during his service, while his wife earned ₹7.61 lakh, taking their combined income to Rs21.50 lakh. However, the couple was allegedly found to possess properties worth Rs39.45 lakh.

Sarode denied the allegations, claiming that he had been falsely implicated because of the MPSC examination scam case and that the proceedings were intended to humiliate and harass him.

While acquitting him, the court noted that no prior sanction for his prosecution had been placed on record. It observed that sanction had not been obtained while Sarode was in service or before his superannuation, although it was mandatory for prosecuting him.

The court further held that the prosecution had failed to establish that Sarode possessed properties acquired through unknown sources of income and consequently acquitted him of the charges.