CHENNAI: A former sheristadar assistant of the Kallakurichi court has been sentenced to a consecutive prison term of 37 years for misappropriating court funds meant for motor accident claims (MCOP) cases and forging court records.
The Kallakurichi Chief Judicial Magistrate Court convicted Arivuselvi, her son Varadharajan and her associate Tamilarasan in the case.
Another accused, Senthilkumar, was acquitted on the grounds that the charges against him were not proven beyond reasonable doubt.
The case was registered by the CB-CID on December 18, 2021, after the inspection of MCOP case records disposed of in 2012 and 2014. The inspection was conducted by Sureshkumar, then principal subordinate judge, Kallakurichi, based on the directive of the Madras High Court.
During the inspection, the signatures of some sub judges and the sheristadar on certain records were found to be suspicious. A verification revealed that compensation amounts had been disbursed to persons unconnected with respective cases.
An investigation by the CBCID, Villupuram, revealed that Arivuselvi, who was a sheristadar assistant between 2012 and 2015, had allegedly reused case numbers of settled MCOP cases and diverted court funds to the bank accounts of Varadharajan, Tamilarasan and Senthilkumar. It was also found that several court records had been tampered with and the signatures of sub judges had been forged on court cheques. A misappropriation of Rs 28 lakh was detected initially, and of another Rs 10 lakh later.
While Arivuselvi has been sentenced to consecutive prison terms under various sections, totalling 37 years, and a fine of Rs 30,000, Varadharajan and Tamilarasan have been awarded consecutive terms of 27 years and fined Rs 17,000.