Bhubaneswar: A Designated CBI court in Bhubaneswar has sentenced a senior advocate to rigorous imprisonment for three years in connection with a 22-year-old insurance fraud case.
The court, in its order pronounced on Tuesday, emphasised that lawyers must uphold the highest standards of integrity and professional ethics. Three truck helpers accused in the case were acquitted.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered the case on February 13, 2004, following a complaint by an insurance company over a fraudulent claim of about Rs 1.6 lakh in a workmen’s compensation matter dating back to October 1999.
CBI public prosecutor Neelesh Kumar was quoted by TOI as saying that the three truck helpers approached the labour commissioner’s court, alleging injuries sustained in a truck accident on October 16, 1999. Investigators alleged that the trio, in collusion with the lawyer, fabricated documents to fraudulently claim compensation. None of them were arrested during the investigation, CBI sources confirmed.
After more than two decades, the case finally concluded on Tuesday with special CJM (CBI) Binod Behari Sahoo convicting the lawyer of criminal conspiracy. The truck helpers were acquitted after the prosecution failed to prove charges against them.
In its verdict, the court observed, “The convict is a senior lawyer who is practising law in courts. Courts are considered temples of justice. A true lawyer is one who places truth and service in the first place and emoluments in the next place only. Lawyers, being in a noble profession, are expected to maintain utmost integrity while discharging their professional obligations by adhering to their professional ethics.”
The accused, being a senior lawyer, did the contrary and brought stigma not only to him, but also to the entire noble profession, the order added.
