Ex-IAS Officer Convicted in PMLA Case, Sentenced to 5 Years RI

A special PMLA court in Ahmedabad convicted a former IAS officer in two PMLA cases. Sharma was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 50,000, with an additional three months of simple imprisonment in default of payment.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated its investigation based on multiple FIRs registered across Gujarat between 2010 and 2014. Pradeep Nirankarnath Sharma, while serving as District Collector of Bhuj, was found to have conspired with others to allot government land at undervalued rates, causing a financial loss of over Rs 1.20 crore to the state exchequer and obtaining undue monetary benefits for himself.

Advertisement

The court also ordered the confiscation of assets worth Rs 1.32 crore, previously attached by the ED, to the Central Government.

Sharma’s discharge application had earlier been rejected, and the Supreme Court upheld the view that money laundering is a continuing offence. The special court further denied his request for his sentence to run concurrently with a previous conviction, noting that the offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and PMLA are distinct, serious, and tried separately, and that Sharma’s misuse of official position disentitled him to such leniency.