New Delhi, 02 July (H.S.): The Delhi High Court has acquitted former Indian Army Major General Anand Kumar Kapur in a nearly 19-year-old disproportionate assets case, setting aside his conviction. A Bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh held that a fair trial lies at the heart of criminal jurisprudence and that denying an accused a reasonable opportunity to present his defence undermines the entire trial process.

Major General Anand Kumar Kapur was commissioned into the Indian Army in 1971. The Special Selection Board selected him for promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General on November 5, 2007, but the declaration of the promotion was withheld for more than 10 months. Kapoor subsequently approached the Delhi High Court in 2008 seeking relief.

During the proceedings before the High Court, it emerged that an FIR had been registered based on an anonymous complaint just 20 days before his proposed promotion. The High Court, through orders dated February 19, 2009, and October 7, 2009, directed the authorities to promote the petitioner to the rank of Lieutenant General.

Within 20 days of the High Court's October 7, 2009 order, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a charge sheet in the case on October 26, 2009. The Central Government challenged the High Court's directions before the Supreme Court, which stayed Kapur's promotion. While granting the stay, the Supreme Court also directed the trial court to expedite the proceedings.

The High Court observed that during the trial, the CBI was given six months to lead its evidence, whereas Major General Kapur was afforded only three opportunities to present his defence. It noted that on the final date fixed for defence evidence, the trial court closed Kapur's opportunity to lead evidence on the ground that lawyers were on strike and that the Supreme Court had directed an expeditious conclusion of the trial.

The High Court held that the defence had not sought an indefinite adjournment but had merely requested a postponement because of the lawyers' strike. It emphasised that the right to a fair trial is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution and cannot be denied to any accused person.

The High Court further held that the prosecution had failed to establish that Major General Kapur possessed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. It questioned the valuation of Kapur's property in Delhi relied upon during the prosecution.

The court also held that linking a property in Goa to Major General Kapur was erroneous, noting that the property was registered in the name of his son. It further observed that the investigating officer had failed to ascertain the source of funds used to acquire the Goa property.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar