₹300 bribe: Why did Jharkhand High Court grant clemency to accused in 1993 corruption case

A man accused of taking ₹300 bribe was granted clemency by Jharkhand High Court. The corruption case dates back to 1993, suggesting extremely long trial. The complainant accused Samir Kumar Choudhary of demanding money for processing his provident fund dues, Live Law reported.

Why did Jharkhand High Court grant clemency to accused in 1993 corruption case

The Single Judge Bench of Pradeep Kumar Srivastava observed that the accused had already been sufficiently punished for his guilt and faced the “agony of the trial” for three decades and hence decided to reduce sentence.

The judge took into account several key facts about the appellant while announcing the judgement, including the relatively small amount involved in the demand, the age of the prosecution and the absence of any previous criminal antecedent. It also took into consideration that the appellant, with no prior criminal record, had already deposited ₹5,000 provisional bail amount, besides undergoing one month one day custody.

The court order dated 20 August states, “The appellant has already undergone agony of the trial for a period of three decades and there is no previous criminal antecedent. His provisional bail has also been confirmed with a condition to deposit Rs. 5,000/- and the same has also been paid. It appears that altogether, the appellant has paid Rs. 7,000/- apart from undergoing one month one day custody.”

As per the legal protocol, this act attracts punishment under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, according to which the indicted person needs to serve a minimum sentence of six months. However, the court decided to reduce the penalty citing that the appellant had already undergone one month and one day in custody and had been sufficiently punished in the facts of the case.

Notable, the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (POCA) is India’s primary legislation that mainly deals with corruption and bribery, which has been amended from time to time to make it more robust and, most recently, to align it with the UN Convention against Corruption.

“Sentence awarded to the appellant is reduced to the imprisonment already undergone along with a fine amount and conditional fine amount of Rs. 5000/- deposed for confirmation of provisional bail,” the court said. Thus, the High Court reduced the accused 1993 corruption sentence to time served after acknowledging his prolonged trial and minor offense.

“This appeal is dismissed on merits with modification in sentence ….The appellant is on bail, hence, he is discharged from the liabilities of bail bonds,” the order added.