M Natarajan, husband of jailed AIADMK leader V K Sasikala (file photo)

CHENNAI: The Madras high court on Friday confirmed the conviction of M Natarajan , husband of jailed AIADMK leader V K Sasikala , in a car import case in which he was sentenced to undergo a twoyear jail term by a special CBI court in October 26, 2016.

The case is of 1994 vintage when Natarajan imported a Toyota Lexus car declaring it a used vehicle of 1993 model. It turned out that the car was a new one, and the false declaration had caused Rs 1.06 crore loss to the exchequer.

Natarajan’s nephew V Bhaskaran, Yogesh Balakrishnan and bank official Sujaritha Sundararajan too were found guilty and ordered to serve prison terms.

Natarajan, who underwent multiple organ transplants in a city hospital on October 4, was discharged from the hospital on November 2.

Original sale invoice was substituted: HC

On Friday, Justice G Jayachandran upheld the verdict of the trial court, dismissed the appeal filed by the accused and directed the court to secure and send them to jail to serve the remaining period of sentence, if any. Upholding the October 26, 2016 verdict of a special CBI court, ii said: “There is ample evidence placed before the court by the prosecution to show that the accused have involved in cheating the government by producing forged documents.

It is unfortunate that senior customs officers who were the members of the conspiracy were not prosecuted, since the prosecuting agency was refused sanction by competent authority. This cannot be the reason to allow the other conspirators to go scotfree. This court opines this is high time to revisit law mandating sanction under Prevention of Corruption Act, and subject it to judicial scrutiny.” Refusal to accord sanction should also be subject to scrutiny so that improper exercise of power by unscrupulous person shielding his subordinate shall be averted, Justice Jayachandran added.

Dismissing the appeal, he then directed the trial court to send the accused to jail. According to CBI, the accused substituted the original sale invoice with a photocopy of an invoice fabricated by changing the manufacturing date to July 1993. They cleared the car under transfer of residence provision, causing a loss of ?1.06 crore to the exchequer.

Though the Lexus, with engine capacity of 3000 cc was not in compliance with the residence transfer provision, it was imported with fabricated documents.

