Vinod M Jain
A Bengaluru court has sentenced an Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) to three years’simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs.1.38 crore in a disproportionate assets case registered by the Karnataka Lokayukta in 2014.
The convicted officer,M.S.Ravikumar,was serving as Assistant Conservator of Forests in the Planning Branch at Aranya Bhavan,Malleswaram,Bengaluru.
According to the Lokayukta,its Bengaluru City Police Station registered Crime No. 25/2014 on June 9,2014, under Sections 13(1)(e) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act,1988,after allegations that Ravikumar possessed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The investigation established that he had allegedly accumulated ₹1,35,29,714.37 worth of disproportionate assets,amounting to 45.27 per cent of his known sources of income.
A chargesheet was subsequently filed before the Lokayukta Special Court,where the case was registered as Special CC No.314/2017.
The investigation was initially conducted by Police Inspector B.G.Kumaraswamy and was later continued by Police Inspector N.V.Mahesh.Police Head Constable R. Vanajakshi assisted the investigation.
Following the trial,CCH-24 (79th City Civil and Sessions Court), Bengaluru, presided over by Judge C.M. Pushpalatha,delivered the verdict on October 5,2026.
The court sentenced Ravikumar to three years’ simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹1,38,64,788. In case of default in payment of the fine,he will have to undergo an additional one year of simple imprisonment.
Lokayukta Special Public Prosecutor Badrinath represented the prosecution.ASI Krishnamurthy AS.and Head Constable Chandrashekar H.assisted with the court proceedings.
