A special court has acquitted former MPSC undersecretary Sudhakar Sarode in a 2006 disproportionate assets case linked to the 2002 MPSC scam probe. The ACB had alleged that his assets exceeded known income, but the court found no valid prior sanction for prosecution and ruled that the prosecution failed to prove disproportionate assets, leading to his acquittal.

Mumbai: The special court designated to conduct the trial in the 2002 MPSC scam on Thursday acquitted Sudhakar Sarode, 76, former undersecretary and controller of examinations with the Maharashtra Public Service Commission, in a disproportionate assets case registered against him in 2006.

Sarode is currently facing trial for his alleged role in the MPSC examination scam. Following registration of the scam case, the Anti-Corruption Bureau initiated an inquiry into the movable and immovable assets held by him, his wife and other relatives. The agency subsequently alleged that he possessed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and registered a separate case.

The prosecution claimed that Sarode earned Rs13.89 lakh during his service, while his wife earned ₹7.61 lakh, taking their combined income to Rs21.50 lakh. However, the couple was allegedly found to possess properties worth Rs39.45 lakh.

Sarode denied the allegations, claiming that he had been falsely implicated because of the MPSC examination scam case and that the proceedings were intended to humiliate and harass him.