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Neera Yadav v. Central Bureau of Investigation

Criminal Appeal · 2017 INSC 698Decided 2 Aug 2017
Criminal Appeal No. 253 of 2017
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

Neera Yadav, former Chairperson and CEO of NOIDA (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority), was convicted by the trial court and the Allahabad High Court for criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act, arising out of a wider scam involving irregular land allotments during her tenure. She was sentenced to three years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine, and appealed to the Supreme Court against both her conviction and sentence.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court upheld her conviction, finding the evidence of abuse of her official position in the land allotment scam well established. However, at the sentencing stage, taking into account that she had since surrendered the disputed plot and building back to NOIDA, withdrawn related claims, and would not seek any refund, the Court reduced her sentence from three years to two years' imprisonment, while rejecting her separate request that multiple sentences run concurrently.

Lesson Learnt

An appellate court can affirm a corruption conviction on the merits while still moderating the sentence in light of a convict's genuine subsequent conduct, such as voluntarily returning the property obtained through the wrongdoing, showing that conviction and sentence are reviewed on separate footings.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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