A decade after a special CBI court convicted former Army Major General Anand Kumar Kapur in a disproportionate assets case, the Delhi High Court has acquitted him, holding that a fair trial is the "heart of criminal jurisprudence" and that the denial of a meaningful opportunity to lead defence evidence vitiated the entire trial.

Allowing Kapur's appeals against his conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act for alleged possession of disproportionate assets worth ₹2.2 crore back in 2007, Justice Jasmeet Singh observed that findings of guilt in corruption cases cannot be recorded in a cursory or perfunctory manner.

“The concept of a fair trial occupies a central position in criminal jurisprudence and constitutes an inseparable facet of the Right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution,” the bench said.

The observation was made after the Court noted that prosecution had taken nearly six months to lead its evidence, whereas Kapur's defence was confined to merely three dates.

Further, on the last day fixed for defence evidence, the trial court closed the defence after lawyers abstained from work due to a strike, refusing an adjournment on the ground that the Supreme Court had directed expeditious disposal of the trial.

“The request made on behalf of the Appellant was not for an indefinite adjournment intended to delay the proceedings, but for a limited accommodation on account of the prevailing lawyers' strike,” the Court remarked.

Unfortunately, the Court added, the CBI Court had proceeded solely with the objective of adhering to the timeline fixed for conclusion of the case, without examining whether denial of further opportunity would occasion prejudice to the defence.

“However, procedural timelines cannot eclipse the constitutional guarantee of a fair trial under Article 21 of the Constitution of India…A criminal trial cannot be reduced to a race against time which overrides the duty to ensure fairness,” it said.

The High Court also independently examined the case on merits and concluded that the prosecution had failed to establish the charge of possessing disproportionate assets beyond reasonable doubt.

Reassessing the evidence asset-wise, the Court found multiple infirmities in the trial court's approach. It held that the trial court had relied on conjectures and assumptions instead of legally admissible evidence.

The Court rejected the prosecution's valuation of a basement property in Delhi, holding that there was no evidence to prove that Kapur had paid any amount over and above the consideration reflected in the registered sale deed.

The High Court also held that the prosecution had wrongly attributed a Goa property to Kapur merely because it stood in the name of his son. It noted that the investigating officer had neither verified the source of funds nor examined the son or the vendor.

Similarly, the Court found that investments, cash and other assets were incorrectly included in Kapur's assets despite evidence indicating that they belonged to or had been funded by his mother or other family members.

As such, the Court set aside the conviction and confiscation order passed by the trial court.

Appearance: Mr. Vivek Kohli, Sr Adv. with Mr. Shashank Dewan, Ms. Nikita Dewan, Mr. Ayush Kumar, Mr. Manan Kesar, Advs. for Appellant; Mr. Rajesh Kumar, SPP-CBI with Mr. Changez Khan, Adv. for CBI

Case Title: Major General Anand Kumar Kapur (Retd) v. CBI

Case no.: CRL.A. 1099/2016

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