U SANTOSH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF A P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners, who are A-1 to A-7 in the crime that has been registered against them in Cr. No. 6/ACB-CR/2000 dated 18-3-2000 by the Anti-Corruption Bureau under Section 13 (1) (e) read with 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 ('the Act' for brevity), seek to quash the said proceedings initiated against them.

(2.) The first petitioner is the father, the petitioners 2 to 4 are his sons and the petitioners 5 to 7 are his daughters. The first petitioner is a public servant working as the Assistant Social Welfare Officer in the State of Andhra Pradesh. The petitioners 2 to 7 are admittedly not public servants.

(3.) The factual matrix germane in the context for effective adjudication of the matter may be set forth in the first instance thus: The petitioner entered into the service in the Department of Social Welfare in the year 1972 as Grade-I Warden and since then has been serving in the Department and receiving his due promotions one after another. The mother of the petitioner was then doing wholesale business in vegetables and also in liquor. The family of the first petitioner was a Hindu joint family having considerable fixed assets. His mother carried the liquor business till 1987 and then carried the wholesale vegetable business till 1990 when she passed away. After her demise, the joint family business was carried on by the wife of the first petitioner till her demise. Thereafter, it was taken up by the sons of the first petitioner. Thus, the family acquired considerable immovable assets in the said business. In the year 1997 when the Government introduced a scheme, what is known as Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme ('VDIS scheme' for brevity), the petitioners 2 to 7 have declared their assets and since then they have become regular income tax assessees. The properties thus held and the income thus declared by them under the VDIS Scheme are the personal properties of the petitioners 2 to 4.