Thane, April 6: The Thane Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court has discharged Dinesh Fuldiya, the then Deputy Commissioner of Customs at UB Centre in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, in a case alleging clearance of goods imported from Gulf countries without payment of customs duty through unfair practices.
The court, presided over by Judge D.S. Deshmukh, allowed Fuldiya’s discharge application, holding that at the time of filing of the charge sheet, no sanction had been accorded by the competent authority for prosecution of the accused.
“Hence, offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, being principal offence, there appears irregularity in taking cognisance against the accused,” the court observed.
Fresh chargesheet may be filed
The court, however, clarified that although the discharge order had been passed, the bar under Section 300 of the CrPC would not apply. The court stated that the prosecution is at liberty to take proper steps in the matter and file a fresh charge sheet against Fuldiya after obtaining the requisite sanction from the competent authority.
CBI allegations and probe details
The CBI, in its FIR, stated that it had received information that certain customs clearing agents were allegedly involved in clearing goods without paying proper customs duty by using passports of individuals who had spent two years abroad to receive items from Gulf countries and evade duty.
The allegations further claimed that between December 2020 and August 2021, Fuldiya had allegedly conspired with Sudhir Padekar, Ashish Kamdar and other accused to defraud the department.
Defence arguments in court
In his application before the special CBI court, Fuldiya stated that during the period between December 2020 and August 2021, he was posted as Deputy Commissioner of Customs at UB Centre, Nhava Sheva, in Raigad district, and that the FIR was registered against him and others on June 4, 2023.
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He contended that the inquiry, investigation, prosecution and cognisance were carried out without the necessary approvals and sanctions, and that the charge sheet was filed without mandatory sanction, rendering the proceedings bad in law. He therefore sought discharge from the case.
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