HC relief to Sonia's aide V George in DA case

Congress President Sonia Gandhi's close aide Vincent George today got relief from the Delhi High Court which quashed the criminal proceedings against him in a 13-year-old disproportionate assets case.
"The petition is allowed ," Justice V P Vaish said while setting aside the order of the trial court summoning him as an accused in the case by rejecting the closure report filed by CBI.
The High Court had during the pendency of the matter passed an interim order on August 26, 2013 staying the proceedings before the trial court.
George had challenged the trial court's July 18, 2013 order directing him to appear before the special court on August 30, 2013.

The trial court had rejected CBI's closure report saying there was sufficient material to proceed against him.
During the argument, George, through senior advocate Guru Krishan Kumar, had argued there was no material on record to indicate the commission of the alleged offence.

It was submitted that the closure report and the material filed by CBI, along with the report, clearly showed each and every penny received has been properly explained with documentary proof.
The trial court had held that sufficient material was available on record for proceeding against George for the offence punishable Under Section 13(1)(e) of Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) relating to possession of assets by a public servant disproportionate to known sources of income and summoned him as an accused for offence punishable under section 13(1)(e) of PCA, 1988.

An FIR was registered against George in 2001, when NDA was in power, by CBI in which he was alleged to have been in possession of disproportionate assets from November, 1984 to December, 1990, a charge rejected by him.