At the age of 96, Anil Gosalia from Mumbai has been sentenced to one year in prison by a CBI court for his involvement in a bank fraud committed 35 years ago.
Gosalia is now bedridden and suffering from various ailments. He was unable to attend the court proceedings on Saturday. Despite his poor health condition, special CBI judge C G Mehta issued a conviction warrant against him.
Gosalia’s advocate, R G Ahuja, informed the court about his client’s poor health and requested leniency. He requested that Gosalia be allowed to remain on bail instead of being sent to jail, which the court granted, sparing him from immediate imprisonment.
In view of his condition, the court showed mercy and acknowledged that he could not independently perform his daily activities. His son, Dilip, 71, and nephew, Vimal, 58, were also found guilty of bank fraud and sentenced to five years in jail.
Probation denied
However, the judge declined the request by Gosalia’s advocate to grant the benefit of probation and observed that unless the court awards “appropriate deterrent punishment” in such socio-economic offences, people would lose faith in the justice delivery system and the very object of the legislation would be defeated. “Misplaced sympathy or unwarranted leniency will send a wrong signal to the society,” the court stated.
The Gosalias, who owned Gosalia International, a firm based in Bhavnagar, were accused of conspiring with State Bank of Saurashtra officials to enhance letter of credit limits in 1989. The fraud came to light in 1995, leading to a CBI investigation.
The trial lasted 26 years. During the pendency of the case, two bank officials who were accused of corruption – managing director K Magabanthu and branch manager Rajnikant Shah – passed away. Two members of the Gosalia family charged in this case – Uday and Kantilal – also died.
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