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Ambi Ram was working as "Kanoongo/Patwari" at Didihat, Uttarakhand. He was convicted for receiving a bribe of Rs. 1200 in the year 1985, for which the Supreme Court has reduced the punishment imposed to 'period already undergone'.
The prosecution has presented the case that he assured Gopal Singh that if an amount of Rs1200 is paid to him then Gopal will not be arrested for the pending criminal case which was imposed on him.
He was caught by the S.P. (Vigilance) while taking the illegal gratification which was actually a trap arranged for this purpose at the behest of Gopal Singh.
The Sessions Court convicted and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of four years and to pay a fine of Rs.5000. The High Court reduced the jail sentence from four years to one year. The accused underwent around one month and 10 day’s imprisonment. Before the Apex Court, the counsel for the accused contended that he is now aged around 78 years and is suffering from heart ailment.
The matter was presented infront of Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre and Justice Dinesh Maheshwari observed that Section 5 (2) of the PC Act which shows that if any public servant commits a criminal misconduct; he will be subjected to a punishment not less than 1 year unless any special reason is presented.
The bench then cited 8 special reasons to reduce the punishment in this case, which are:
" Firstly, the incident is of the year 1985; Secondly, for the last 34 years the case is pending; Thirdly, the appellant has now reached to the age of 78 years; Fourthly, he is suffering from heart ailment, as stated by the learned counsel for the appellant, and is also not keeping well; Fifthly, he has so far, during the trial and after suffering conviction, undergone total jail sentence of one month and 10 days; Sixthly, he has been on bail throughout for the last 34 years and did not indulge in any criminal activities nor breached any conditions of the bail granted to him; Seventhly, the bribe amount was Rs.1200/-; and lastly, in the last 34 years, he has suffered immense trauma, mental agony and anguish. "
As the special reason was seen in the case, the bench has reduced the jail sentence imposed by the High Court and reduced it to "what is already undergone". The fine amount was increased to Rs. 10,000.
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