15 years on, law catches up with officials in bank challan case

It took 15 years for the Department of Stamps & Registration to act against eight officials, including four sub-registrars, for allegedly causing losses to the state exchequer by fudging bank challans.

Three of them have since retired and one is dead.

The department has dismissed four officials for irregularities while serving at sub-registrar offices in Mandya district in 2006. The accused include Sringeri sub-registrar H N Cheluvaraju, who had recently filed a complaint against alleged hawala transactions at sub-registrar offices. The other officials suspended are sub-registrars S N Prabha and second division assistants (SDA) A C Sunanda and Leelavathi. Others named in the case include senior sub-registrar P V Veeraraje Urs (deceased), retired sub-registrars M Umesh, C Vijaya and SDA Srinivasulu.

According to the order issued by Inspector-General of Stamps and Commissioner for Registration K P Mohan Raj, action was initiated based on a complaint registered against the officials in 2006.

They were accused of fudging challans of property registration payments liable to the state for personal gains.

The seven officials — save the deceased — were found to have fudged a total of 153 challans resulting in losses to the tune of Rs 14-15 lakh to the government.

Following the alleged fraud, retired judge B Rangaswamy who was appointed to investigate, submitted an enquiry report in 2009. An FIR was also filed against the eight officials at
Mandya.

Though disciplinary action was initiated against the officials that year under the provisions of Karnataka Civil Service Rules, 1959, the accused had approached the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal, seeking a stay against the order issued by the Department.

Their petitions were disposed of last year, and the department has issued the suspension order along with penal provisions that allow for imprisonment of up to four years.

Cheluvaraju had created a stir earlier this year after filing a complaint with Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar over alleged hawala transactions at sub-registrar offices. He had also written to the Home Department seeking a probe into the alleged irregularities documented by him while serving at the Sringeri sub-registrar office in Chikkamagaluru district.

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