Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 – ss.7, 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) – Illegal gratification – Demand and acceptance by public servant – Reduction of sentence – Inspector of Central Excise convicted and sentenced u/ss.7 and 13(2) rw s.13(1)(d) for demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹300 from a factory supervisor for issuing registration certificate – Reduction of sentence awarded to the inspector sought:
Held: More than two decades have passed by since the incident took place – Inspector underwent imprisonment for 31 days – She is a widow, aged 75 years, staying alone, husband having died, belongs to scheduled caste and has been spending her life negotiating all hardships – Prolongation of a criminal case for an unreasonable period is in itself a kind of suffering, amounting to mental incarceration and mental agony for the person facing such proceedings – On facts, it is appropriate that she may not be made to undergo the imprisonment again – In the totality of the facts and circumstances, the imprisonment already undergone by her is treated to be adequate sentence – Conviction of the Inspector upheld, however, sentence awarded reduced to the actual undergone – Imposition of fine increased, the inspector to pay fine of ₹25,000/- over and above originally imposed. [Paras 8-11] Sentence/Sentencing – Principles guiding the sentencing process – Stated. [Paras 6, 6.1, 7]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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