That's why the court canceled the 7-year jail sentence of former MLA Ranbir Singh Kharb and his wife in the fraud case.

New Delhi : The Rouse Avenue court on Wednesday accepted the appeal filed by former MLA Ranbir Singh Kharb and his wife Anita Kharb in a fraud case. The court quashed his conviction and the sentence awarded to him. The duo had challenged their seven-year jail sentence in a case related to defrauding investors between 1998 and 2004. There were three sitting MLAs during this period. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja allowed the appeal after hearing the parties.

The court said that in the light of the evidence and submissions that came on record during the trial, it is clear that the prosecution has failed to establish the guilt of the appellants beyond the scope of reasonable doubt. “In fact, there are glaring contradictions and inconsistencies which have not been appreciated by the trial court in the impugned judgment,” the court said.

“On the basis of the evidence on record and the discrepancies discussed in the preceding paragraphs of this judgment, I am of the considered opinion that the appellants could not have been convicted of the alleged offences,” the special judge said in the judgment.

The court, in its order dated October 23, said the appeal is allowed and the judgment dated December 13, 2023, and sentence dated February 24, 2024, are set aside.

Earlier, the earlier court had on February 29 suspended the sentence of Ranbir Singh Kharb and Anita Kharb till the disposal of their appeals. On February 24, the court had sentenced the couple to seven years in jail in the cheating and criminal conspiracy case and also imposed a fine of Rs 44.5 lakh.

Let us tell you that this case was registered by the Economic Offenses Wing of Delhi Police in 2006. According to the prosecution, the culprits fraudulently and dishonestly induced the complainant Praveen Kumar to invest money in the company and as a result, he invested Rs 23 lakh without receiving any returns or refunds. Ranbir Singh Dahiya was defrauded of Rs 1.34 crore.

Additional Chief Metropolitan (ACMM) Priyanka Rajput had on February 24 sentenced convicts Ranbir Singh Kharb and Anita Kharb to seven years' imprisonment. The court said that the convict Ranbir Kharab has been sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of five thousand rupees. A fine of Rs 22 lakh for the offense punishable under Section 120-B of the IPC read with Section 420 of the IPC. Similarly, convict Anita Kharb has been sentenced to seven years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 22 lakh for the offense punishable under section 120-B of the IPC read with section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

Later on 26 February 2024, the amount of the fine was revised to Rs 44.50 lakh. Also, the third convict Satprakash was released on probation by the court. He paid a fine of Rs 55 thousand.

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It was alleged that the accused persons Ranbir Singh Kharb, Anita Kharb and Satprakash had confessed to the offenses of cheating, criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy and defrauded various innocent investors in the name of 'investment' in Jyoti Fair Finance Company, which was the main were apparently relatives of the accused persons.

It was alleged that during the period 1998 to 2004 the accused persons hatched a criminal conspiracy to defraud the general public through a scheme launched through a finance company named M/s Jyoti Fair Finance Company.

According to the prosecution, the accused persons induced the general public to invest money in the company by luring them with high interest rates and monetary gains, however, the accused persons never intended to return the money. Whatever payment was made was to entice/induce gullible investors to invest further.

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Accused Anita Kharb was the director of the company. She issued receipts in the name of the company and often encouraged the general public and her acquaintances to invest money in the company. According to the prosecution, convict Satprakash, like accused Anita Kharab, used to give receipts in the name of the company and often induced the general public and his acquaintances to invest money in the company.

Accused Ranbir Singh Kharab is the alleged kingpin of the entire case, even though he did not hold any position in the company. However, according to the prosecution, he secretly ran the said company without wearing the hat of a director/employee. The prosecution had alleged that almost every victim had accused Kharab of luring him into depositing the money.