KOCHI: In the second judgment in the series of cases related to the
solar scam, Perumbavoor First Class Magistrate court has found accused
Saritha S Nair and
Biju Radhakrishnan
guilty under section 420 (cheating) of the
IPC
and sentenced both of them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years and to pay a fine of Rs10, 000.
The court acquitted the other three accused, Manimon son Bahuleyan (36), Shalu Venugopal alias Shalu Menon (28) and her mother Kaladevi Venugopal (54) of all charges.
The main accused in the case, Saritha and Biju were were charged with sections 120 B, 419 and 406. Biju was charged with another charge under section 201 IPC but was found not guilty in the same as well. Actress Shalu Menon and her mother were found not guilty of cases charged against them under sections 201, 212 r/w 34 of the IPC.
The convicts will have to undergo an additional sentence of six more months in case they fail to pay the fine. Saritha Nair was released on bail and has been given time till January 16, 2017 to file an appeal petition.
The case pertains to the very first complaint lodged by Sajjad K M, a former
NRI
who alleged that the accused took Rs40 lakh as consultation fee. When the project didn't work out, Sajjad lodged a police complaint leading to the arrest of the main accused. Following the arrest, more complaints were raised and 33 cheating cases have been lodged against the couple.
The first verdict in the solar scam came in June 2015 where the accused duo were given three year rigorous imprisonment in various charges including cheating, conspiracy, impersonation and forgery. The accused were then asked to pay a compensation as well.