Fake marksheet case: Allahabad HC upholds conviction of ex-BJP MLA Indra Pratap Tiwari
Lucknow (PTI): The Allahabad High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by former BJP MLA Indra Pratap Tiwari against a trial court order that convicted him in a fake marksheet case.
Dismissing Tiwari's appeal, the Lucknow bench of the court also said on Thursday that the former legislator should be taken into custody forthwith to serve out the sentence awarded to him by a sessions court in Ayodhya.
The bench further dismissed the plea of two other convicts in the case and asked them to serve the remainder of their sentences.
A bench headed by Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh passed the verdict.
In its order, the court took note of the fact that Tiwari had a criminal history of 35 cases.
Besides the former MLA, the two other appellants were Kripa Nidhan Tiwari and Phool Chand Yadav.
"From the evidence led by the prosecution, the offences under sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the IPC are fully made out and proved against the appellants and the trial court rightly convicted and sentenced the appellants for the aforesaid offences," the judge said.
In separate appeals, the three had challenged the October 18, 2021 judgment of a special MP-MLA court in Ayodhya, sentencing Tiwari to five years in jail.
After his conviction in the case, Tiwari, who was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Gosaiganj in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya district, was disqualified.
The appellants were put on trial for the offences committed while getting themselves admitted to Saket Mahavidyalaya in Ayodhya on the basis of fake marksheets.
A complaint was filed by the then principal of the college, Yaduvansh Ram Tripathi, on February 14, 1992 and February 16, 1992 with the senior superintendent of police (SSP), Faizabad. Subsequently, a chargesheet was filed in the case.
The MP-MLA court convicted the trio of the charges against him on October 18, 2021.
It was argued on behalf of the convicts that the trial court had committed an error in convicting them on the basis of documentary evidence, the original copies of which were not produced before it.
Opposing the plea, the state counsel argued that Tiwari had a criminal history of 35 cases and was absconding for 30 years, due to which the trial was delayed.
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Bommai condemns Goa CM's statement on Mahadayi river project
Gadag (Karnataka), Jul 27 (PTI): BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavarj Bommai on Sunday condemned Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's statement on the Mahadayi river project, as he also questioned the Congress' moral right to speak on the issue.
He claimed that whatever progress has been made on the Mahadayi issue, it happened under the BJP government.
Addressing the Goa Assembly last week, Sawant claimed that the Centre would not approve the Mahadayi project.
He also said the Goa government would file a contempt petition in the Supreme Court against Karnataka for carrying out activities aimed at diverting Mahadayi river water.
Bommai said, "There is no need to politicise the Mahadayi project issue. We are all united as this is an issue concerning the state. I condemn the statement made by the Chief Minister of Goa. There is no need to play such a big political game over one state's interests. He must act in accordance with the law, and hence I condemn his remarks."
Speaking to reporters here, he questioned the moral standing of Congress leaders in Karnataka on the Mahadayi issue.
"Congress leader Sonia Gandhi herself during the Goa polls said that not a single drop of Mahadayi water would be given to Karnataka. What moral right does Congress have to speak on this issue?" he asked.
Dubbing the Goa CM's statement an "insult to the people of Karnataka", CM Siddaramaiah had earlier hit out at the BJP stating "Why has the Centre not officially communicated its concerns? Is this how federalism works under the BJP? Are we being punished for not surrendering to the BJP?"
Bommai accused the Congress party of building a barrier to prevent Mahadayi water from flowing into the Malaprabha river, thereby obstructing the interlinking canal work initiated during the BJP regime and this was the only "contribution" Congress made to the Mahadayi project.
"Whatever progress has been made on the Mahadayi issue, it happened under the BJP government. The Congress, which constituted the tribunal, did not even provide it an office for four years. It was the BJP government that gave it an office. Though the tribunal gave a verdict, it was not notified. The NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued the notification," he said.
It was the central NDA government that prepared the DPR for the Mahadayi project and got it approved. "It was also the BJP government that secured environmental clearance. The only thing the Congress did was to block the interlinking canal works started during the BJP tenure by constructing a barrier to prevent Mahadayi water from reaching the Malaprabha river," he said.
Goa has been opposing Karnataka's Kalasa-Banduri project in the Mahadayi river basin.
The Kalasa-Banduri project by the Karnataka government proposes diverting Mahadayi river water into the Malaprabha river to enhance the drinking water supply in parts of Dharwad, Belagavi, Bagalkote, and Gadag districts.
The Mahadayi river flows through Karnataka and Goa before joining the Arabian Sea. Known as the Mandovi in Goa, it is one of the state's two major rivers.
The diversion of Mahadayi water has long been a point of contention between Karnataka and Goa, with the latter claiming "it would severely impact the state's flora and fauna."
Speaking about the urea shortage in the state, Bommai said the government could have averted the crisis.
"Rainfall began early this year, and fertilizer should have been supplied where needed. Buffer stock should have been maintained, the management has not been proper," he said.
Noting that the state government has now submitted to the Centre for additional urea fertilizer supply, he said, "We (BJP) too will speak with the Union Minister for Agriculture and Fertilizers to get more supply. But more importantly, the fertilizer that is already arriving must be distributed properly by the Agriculture Department and the concerned ministers."
