FERA case: Abhishek Verma gets 6 month jail for non-appearance

Controversial arms dealer Abhishek Verma has been awarded six-month jail term by a Delhi court for non-compliance of summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate(ED) in a 1999 FERA violation case.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jyoti Kler, however, allowed the convict to walk free after noting that he had already spent the period behind the bars, ED counsel N K Matta said.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on Verma.

During the arguments, Matta submitted that due to Verma's defiance of the summons, the probe was stalled.

According to the probe agency, a complaint was filed on December 14, 1999 before the court seeking Verma's presence for investigation.

It said he had deliberately avoided appearance and hence committed an offence under the now-repealed Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.

The complaint filed by ED was for violation of seven summons between July and November 1999 issued by it to Verma to appear before the investigation officer of the agency.

The charges in this case were framed against Verma in January 2005 when he had denied the allegations and claimed trial.

Verma is facing prosecution in various corruption, money laundering and cheating cases in several courts here.