New Delhi: A Delhi court has sentenced former Independent member of Delhi Assembly Rambeer Shokeen to four months’ in jail after he was convicted under Section 174-A (non-attendance in obedience to an order from a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Shokeen had failed to appear before the court despite repeated summons.
On August 23, the court had acquitted five gangsters, including Shokeen, in a case involving the operation of an organised crime syndicate in Delhi-NCR.
Special Judge Geentanjali Goel had acquitted Neeraj Bawana, Pankaj Sherawat, Shokeen, and Bawana’s associates Naveen Dabas and Rahul Dabas.
While handing Shokeen a jail term, Goel said no grounds were found to release him on probation.
“Considering the fact that the convict was earlier declared a proclaimed offender and was then arrested and had then again escaped from custody and was declared an absconder and surrendered only after considerable time had lapsed, the present case is not a fit case to release the convict on probation,” the judge said.
“Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and to meet the ends of justice, it would be reasonable if the convict Rambeer Shokeen is sentenced to simple imprisonment for a period of four months,” Goel added.
The court, however, released him for the period he has already spent in jail. There is no other case pending against him, his lawyer said.
The prosecution had sought the maximum punishment of three years in the case, claiming that Shokeen was highly-placed and was an MLA and should have acted more responsibly.
It was further claimed that he should not have indulged in criminal activities, and that he should have honoured the law, which he did not do.
Appearing for Shokeen, advocates M.S. Khan and Qausar Khan sought minimum punishment for the accused, claiming that their client was falsely implicated in the present case. They added that he was a person of repute in the society and won elections as an Independent candidate, while his wife too had won elections as a councillor.
On August 23, the court while acquitting five persons, found that the prosecution failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt lodged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
The court agreed with the arguments presented by defence advocates M.S. Khan and Qausar Khan, who said that the prosecution lacked the necessary evidence to prove the case against the accused.
Goel had said that Shokeen, however, would face a maximum imprisonment of one month for the conviction.
–IANS