A court in Gujarat’s Kutch district on Saturday sentenced former IAS officer Pradeep Sharma to five years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with a 2011 case involving irregularities in the allotment of government land to a private company, resulting in a loss to the public exchequer.
The court also handed down the same sentence to urban planner Natubhai Desai, then mamlatdar Narendra Prajapati, and then resident deputy collector Ajitsinh Zala. All four were fined ₹10,000 each. The case centers on the improper allocation of government land to Saw Pipes Pvt Ltd in 2004, during Sharma’s tenure as the Collector of Kutch.
The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate JV Buddha of Bhuj ruled that Sharma’s sentence will begin after he completes a separate five-year sentence handed to him by a sessions court in Ahmedabad in January 2024, related to a 2004 corruption case.
An FIR was lodged against Sharma and the three other accused at the CID Crime Rajkot zone police station in 2011 under Indian Penal Code sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servants), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 217 (public servant disobeying the law with intent to save someone from punishment). Sharma was arrested on March 4, 2011.
Special public prosecutor H.B. Jadeja informed the court that the prosecution relied on 52 pieces of documentary evidence and testimony from 18 witnesses to establish the case.
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According to the prosecution, Sharma misused his authority to issue land allotments to Saw Pipes Pvt Ltd through multiple orders, violating state government policies and thereby causing financial damage to the state.
The land allocated exceeded the legally permitted limit of two hectares set by a Gujarat Revenue Department resolution dated June 6, 2003, which authorised collectors to allot only up to that amount for industrial purposes.
The prosecution further argued that Sharma acted in deliberate contravention of state directives, with the intention of financially benefiting the private company. The remaining three accused officials were said to have conspired with Sharma during District Land Valuation Committee meetings and collaborated in executing the irregular allotment.
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