Karnataka court slaps ₹5 crore fine, 7 years jail on five persons for misappropriating Mandya Urban Development Authority funds

A Karnataka court recently sentenced five persons to 7 years in jail and also imposed fine of ₹1 crore on each of them (total of ₹5 crore) for misappropriating funds of the Mandya Urban Development Authority (MUDA)..The judge, while refusing to exercise leniency in sentencing the accused, said that the act should be seriously viewed considering the loss caused to the government exchequer.“The said act cannot be considered as a minor act and even the court has to take a serious note of the offences committed by them.”.Therefore, it was noted that suitable fine has to be imposed so as to ensure that the loss to the government exchequer is made good.Consequently, out of the ₹5,02,75,000 fined, a compensation of ₹5,02,00,000 was awarded to the MUDA..The accused, one of whom was in-charge of the accounts section at the MUDA while working there as a First Division Assistant (FDA), were found to have hatched a conspiracy to cheat MUDA out of ₹5 crores and the proceeds were initially deposited in one of their accounts and later transferred to the others..They were convicted of offences under the Indian Penal Code as well as the Prevention of Corruption Act.However, citing health ailments, the accused prayed for leniency in sentencing..On the other hand, the public prosecutor urged the Court to consider the gravity of the offences since economic offences bleed the economy of the country. Therefore, it was argued that the sentence should be proportionate to the offence committed, and act as a deterrent to the society..The Court took into account the fact that one of the accused was entrusted with public property while discharging public duty, but he breached the trust which was reposed in him and caused dent to the public at large.Further, it was noted that the act was deliberate and well-planned.Thus, concluding that loss was suffered by the society at large due to the act of the accused, the Court refused to exercise leniency.It was also observed that their ill-health could not be a mitigating factor when the nature of the offence is taken into account.