Aizawl: Former Chief Executive Member (CEM) of Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC), Kali Kumar Tongchangya, who had been sentenced to four years in prison for a corruption case, was granted bail on Monday.
The bail was granted after an appeal was filed by his legal representative, Justice Nelson Sailo.
The hearing took place on October 6, where A M Bora, an experienced senior counsel, with assistance from Bipul Bhagawati, presented the appellant’s case. The application sought to suspend the execution of the sentence and the orders issued on September 25 and 26, respectively.
Bora argued that Kali Kumar Tongchangya had no prior criminal convictions and had been on bail throughout the trial. He referred to paragraph 10 of the contested order dated September 26th, highlighting that even the trial court recognised the lack of evidence indicating the misappropriation of funds for personal gain by the appellant.
After considering the submissions made by the learned senior counsel and in accordance with Section 389 of the CrPC and its proviso, Justice Nelson Sailo decided to suspend the contested judgment, order of conviction, and the sentence. This suspension will remain in effect until the final disposition of the related criminal appeal.
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On September 25, Tongchangya, the current CADC chairman, was found guilty of corruption by the Court of Special Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act). The next day, he was sentenced to four years in prison and fined Rs. 4 lakh for misusing Rs. 1.79 crore allocated for road construction under the NLCPR, diverting it to fund the Congress party’s 2013 CADC election campaign.
Following his conviction, Tongchangya was disqualified from CADC membership on September 28.
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