An anti-corruption court on Saturday awarded five-year imprisonment besides Rs 2,00,000 fine to a former civil judge, Anis Ali Khatri, for being involved in misappropriating public funds during his tenure.
The anti-corruption establishment had booked Khatri along with others in a graft case in 2000 after corruption in the rent amount was found during an annual inspection by the then East district’s top judge.
After recording the witnesses’ statements, evidences and arguments from both sides, the city’s anti-corruption court judge, Gulshan Ara Chandio, found the senior civil judge-VII and rent controller of East district, Anis Ali Khatri, guilty of embezzling more than Rs 1million which were deposited with him by the litigants and respondents.
Initially, the former civil judge had accused his court’s clerk, Aslam Khan, and another, Jahangir, of being involved in the embezzlement but for his part, he maintained innocence. When the matter was reported to the Sindh High Court, the judge also assured the authorities of his best to recover the embezzled amount from the clerk and sought time. He also insisted that the matter shall not be referred for a criminal action.
According to the prosecution, the judge returned Rs 2,50,000 while the clerk returned Rs 75,000 to the authorities but the remaining of amount out of total Rs 1.085million was not deposited by them.
The judge’s role was found with his signatures on all the cheques used for withdrawing the amount from the National Bank’s City Courts Branch.
The Special Public Prosecutor, Muhammad Arif Sitai, who was tasked to appear on behalf of the state, told PPI that during the six-year-long trial the former judge proved guilty of the offence in the lights of five witnesses’ statements, bank records and other documentary evidences.
Besides the five years imprisonment, the anti-corruption court judge also imposed a fine of Rs 2,00, 000 on the former civil judge who would have to spend six more months in jail if he fails to pay the fine amount.
The former civil judge was on bail and did not turn up during the hearing. The anti-corruption court directed the authorities to arrest him and shift to prison. The court’s clerk and the bank employee were not arrested throughout the case.
