Court closes 32-year-old DA case against ex-IAS officer nearing 90

A Delhi court has closed a disproportionate assets (DA) case against a former IAS officer after 32 years of trial, noting that the accused was about 90 years of age and of unstable and unsound mind.

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Special Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act) Anil Antil closed the case against Surender Singh Ahluwalia, who was posted as chief secretary to the Nagaland government, declaring him “unfit to stand trial”.

The judge said truth remains hidden in the shadows of injustice “when the system fails”. “This is the entire story and fate of the case at hand,” he said in an order passed on July 12. The judge said that by this time, Ahluwalia, the main accused, now aged about 90 years, “became unstable and of unsound mind and was declared unfit to stand trial ( trial against him already stands adjourned indefinitely)”.