A special court designated for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has sentenced retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Pradeep Sharma to five years of rigorous imprisonment. The conviction is related to a money laundering case stemming from the alleged illegal allotment of government land to the Welspun group at heavily discounted rates during his tenure as Kutch District Collector.
The Conviction and Sentencing Details
Special PMLA judge K M Sojitra pronounced the verdict on Saturday, convicting Sharma under relevant sections of the anti-money laundering law. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the 71-year-old former bureaucrat. Crucially, the judge rejected a plea by Sharma's defence counsel to allow this sentence to run concurrently with a previous five-year sentence handed down by the same court in January 2024 for a separate PMLA offence.
The court stated it could "not find any justifiable reason to direct concurrency" of the sentences. The judgement emphasised the seriousness of the offence, noting that Sharma, as a collector, had "indulged himself in corrupt practice" and subsequently in money laundering, warranting no leniency.
Origins of the Case and Allegations
The Enforcement Directorate's case, registered by its Ahmedabad zonal office in March 2012, was built on three First Information Reports (FIRs) filed against Sharma by the CID Crime, Rajkot Zone, in 2010. The core allegation is that Sharma, while serving as the Kutch District Collector and chairman of the District Land Pricing Committee (DLPC) between 2003 and 2006, conspired to allot prime government land in Varshmedi village of Anjar Taluka, Bhuj, to Welspun India Ltd and its associated companies at "discriminatory" rates.
According to the prosecution, Sharma allotted multiple land parcels at rates between Rs 15 to Rs 18 per square metre, drastically lower than the government-fixed rate of Rs 78 per square metre. This allegedly caused a financial loss of approximately Rs 1.20 crore to the state exchequer, which was classified as proceeds of crime.
The Money Laundering Modus Operandi
The prosecution successfully argued that Sharma laundered these proceeds of crime by projecting them as legitimate funds. The modus operandi, as detailed in the court judgement, involved channeling illegal gratification through his wife, Shyamal Sharma.
She was made a 30 per cent partner in M/s. Value Packaging Private Limited, a firm associated with the Welspun Group, without any initial capital investment. The prosecution alleged that an amount of Rs 22 lakh deposited in her bank account and another Rs 7.50 lakh received as a "goodwill payment" were bribes for the undue favours extended to Welspun.
Further, funds were allegedly sent to Sharma's wife's US bank accounts from third parties, including Ravin Jhunjhunwala and Gurnam Singh Juneja. These funds were reportedly used to repay a housing loan for a property in Gandhinagar and to purchase agricultural land in Dehgam, Gandhinagar.
Defence and Future Legal Course
Sharma's lawyer, R G Goswami, contended that the case pertained to a period when the PMLA was not in force and that the ED lacked necessary sanctions under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to file the complaint. He argued that the required permissions under the PMLA were not on record.
"Our submissions were not considered. We will move the High Court against the sentence," Goswami stated after the verdict.
Consequences and Property Confiscation
During the investigation, the ED had provisionally attached Sharma's properties, including land in Gandhinagar district and a house. The PMLA court, in its Saturday order, directed that these seized properties "stand confiscated to the Central government."
Sharma was first arrested in this case in July 2016 and was released on bail in March 2018. The latest conviction marks a significant development in a long-running legal battle concerning corruption and money laundering in high-profile land allotments in Gujarat.
