Two promoters of 'CTC', a women ethnic wear brand, have been sentenced to two years in jail by a Delhi court for conspiring with an MCD official to prevent demolition of their unauthorised construction.
Siblings Sudesh Chhabra and Anil Chhabra, of Chhabra Trading Company, popularly known as CTC, were given the jail term by Special CBI Judge Pradeep Chaddah.
The court also sentenced the MCD official Zakir Hussain, a junior engineer, to three years in jail, saying, "There is rampant corruption in almost all government departments and MCD is no exception to it. Not a brick can be laid until palms of the officials are suitably greased."
All the three have, however, been granted bail till July 22.
They have been held guilty under section 120B of the IPC (criminal conspiracy) and section 13 of Prevention of Corruption Act dealing with bribery. Hussain was also convicted under section 218 of the IPC (public servant framing incorrect record).
While CBI Prosecutor Praneet Sharma demanded exemplary punishment for the trio, the court imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh each on Anil and Sudesh and Rs 4 lakh on Hussain, and said, "Though the amount of fine imposed on the three convicts does not qualify as more than loose change for them, but still it would send�out�a message."
The conviction came in a case registered against the trio by the CBI on the directions of the Delhi High Court in a writ petition relating to misconduct of MCD officials which resulted in large scale unauthorised construction.
