Pune: Former CGST Superintendent Sentenced to Four Years in Disproportionate Assets Case

Pune, 26th August 2026: A special CBI court in Pune has sentenced former Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) superintendent Vivek Dekate to four years of rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs 3.5 lakh for amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income by allegedly misusing his official position.

The court also convicted his wife, Lalita Dekate, for assisting in the offence and sentenced her to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000.

Special Judge Rajendra Mendhe observed that the offence proved against Dekate was serious in nature and affected society. The court noted that accumulating assets through corrupt means causes harm to society.

According to the prosecution, Dekate served as a superintendent in the Prevention and Training sections of the Pune CGST Commissionerate between January 1, 2016, and March 26, 2019.

Dekate was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with a bribery case. During the investigation, the CBI-ACB conducted a search at his flat in Yerawada.

During the search, investigators allegedly recovered Rs 20.75 lakh in cash from a drawer of a cupboard, along with an additional Rs 32,410 in cash and documents relating to various properties.

Following the recovery, then CBI Superintendent M.R. Kalode ordered the registration of a separate case against Dekate for allegedly possessing disproportionate assets.

Deputy Superintendents Kumar Bhaskar and Amol Nandedkar investigated the case and filed a chargesheet against the accused. During the trial, special public prosecutors Prakashkumar Soni, Abhayraj Arikar and Arvind Kumar examined 21 witnesses.

Court rejects defence over property transactions

The defence claimed that the cash recovered from Dekate’s residence had been received through property sale transactions. However, the court rejected the explanation.

The court found that Dekate had accumulated assets 94.36 per cent higher than his known sources of income during his tenure as a public servant and had failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the assets.

The court also rejected the defence that Lalita Dekate had purchased a plot in the Chinchwad Pradhikaran area using income earned from private home tuition.

The judgment concluded that the accused had failed to satisfactorily account for the disproportionate assets, leading to their conviction and sentencing.