A retired Army officer, facing trial for allegedly cheating an Army hospital in Delhi by clearing a medicine supplier's full bill for a medicine with very short shelf-life without getting delivery of its entire consignment, has been acquitted by a Delhi court.
Special CBI Judge Dharmesh Sharma acquitted former Lt Col JK Bhagat, the then head of Nuclear Medicine Department (NMD) of R&R Army Hospital in Delhi saying "he acted in best interest of the department" as securing the entire consignment of the medicine with short life span would have resulted in its degeneration.
"There appears to be no intention or malice in the entire operation. He (Bhagat) was a senior officer in the project of AFMRC and he probably acted in best interest of the department ensuring that no undue loss is caused due to shorter life of medicine, which action had the approval of the Commandant," the court said.
It pointed out that if he acted with his Commandant's approval, "he can not be fastened with any liability".
The case against Lt Col Bhagat had been registered after a surprise inspection of the NMD on April 28, 2000 by Defence Ministry officials, which found only nine vials instead of 36 at NMD despite clearance and payment of entire bill worth Rs1.75 lakh to medicine supplier. M/s Kent Industries and its proprietor.
The case was registered and probed by the CBI which had indicted both Bhagat and medicine supplier M/s Kent Industries' proprietor Gagan Khanna for cheating NMD and causing pecuniary loss to it.
During the trial, however, it emerged that NMD had a informal understanding with the supplier that it would retain the medicine with itself for safe-keeping and supply it as soon its need arises.
