Additional Sessions Judge Pawan Kumar Jain discharged Chawla and his alleged live-in-partner Shonika from the stringent charges, saying "the stringent provisions of MCOCA cannot be invoked against the accused persons merely on the ground that accused Judge Chawla was previously involved in several cases of cheating and forgery."
While Chawla now faces cheating and forgery charges under the Indian Penal Code, Shonika has been absolved of all charges and was set free on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and a surety of like amount.
Chawla and Shonika were arrested by police in July 2009. The police had alleged that Chawla, along with his associates, had accumulated huge wealth by grabbing disputed properties by cheating and forging documents.
The prosecution had also said Chawla was continuing his activities in an organised manner and in the last ten years, was involved in 13 cases of cheating and forgery and was chargesheeted in seven cases out of them.
It was also revealed that he was having benami properties and his partner Shonika was also associated with him in various crimes, the police said. (MORE)
