SC quashes graft proceedings against Jaffer Sharief

The Supreme Court Friday quashed criminal proceedings against former railway minister C.K. Jaffer Sharief in an alleged case of graft under the Prevention of Corruption Act. In a case dating back to 1995, Sharief was accused of corrupt practices by taking his personal staff to London during one of his various trips as railway minister.

Quashing the proceedings, an apex court bench of Justices P Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi said the matter could not be construed as a corrupt or illegal activity for any pecuniary gains for himself. Sharief was railway minister during the Congress government led by PV Narasimha Rao.

The CBI had alleged that Sharief forced the managing directors of two public sector undertakings to sanction travel for four of his employees during the trip for a heart operation.