Court dismisses case against Raman Singh’s former aide Aman Singh for disproportionate assets.

The court, in an order dated April 16, accepted the closure report filed by the state EOW-ACB. The report found that no case of disproportionate assets could be made out against Mr. Singh and his wife Yasmin Singh.

An FIR was lodged based on claims by an RTI activist during the previous Congress government under Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in the state. After three years of investigation, the state EOW-ACB failed to substantiate the allegations of disproportionate assets against Mr. Singh and his wife, as stated in the court order.

The closure report was filed by the EOW of the state government last December before the current BJP government took office. The trial court has now accepted the closure report and quashed the FIR.

Aman Singh, a former Indian Revenue Service officer, was a powerful bureaucrat in the Raman Singh-led BJP government in Chhattisgarh and the principal secretary to the former Chief Minister. In February 2020, the Chhattisgarh EOW registered an FIR against Mr. Singh and his wife in an alleged disproportionate assets case.

The Bilaspur High Court quashed the FIR two years ago, but the Supreme Court set the order aside in March 2023. The Supreme Court stated that it was desirable that High Courts do not quash FIRs in corruption cases at the investigation stage, even if it is suspected that a new government registered the case against officers of the previous dispensation.

The trial court has now accepted the closure report filed by the EOW and scrapped the FIR. Noted criminal lawyer and senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, who represented the Singhs, said the FIR under the Bhupesh Baghel government was used to unjustly target Aman Singh and his wife Yasmin Singh, forcing them to undergo trials and tribulations for several years.

He mentioned that justice has finally been served with their discharge by the court. Former Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary Sunil Kumar, who worked with both the Congress and the BJP Chief Ministers, spoke about the adverse impacts of political victimization on governance and the morale of public servants.

He mentioned that officers of integrity being targeted for political considerations is demoralizing because not everyone can withstand the personal costs of incorruptibility in public service. Despite claiming the charges were politically motivated, Aman Singh fully cooperated with the subsequent investigation, which ultimately vindicated him and his wife as no case of disproportionate assets was made out.

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