30-Year Legal Battle For Rs 20 Bribe: Top Court Acquits 2 Government Staffers
The Supreme Court of India has acquitted two government employees in a 30-year-old bribery case involving a sum of Rs 20. The court ruled that the conviction was unsustainable due to a lack of evidence regarding the demand for a bribe and inconsistencies in the prosecution's case.
Why it matters
The case highlights the extreme delays in the Indian judicial system and the high burden of proof required in corruption cases.
A legal battle over an alleged bribe of Rs 20 has ended after three decades, with the Supreme Court setting aside the conviction of two Gujarat government employees.A bench comprising Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S Chandurkar acquitted a clerk and a peon, stating that the conviction cannot be sustained solely based on the recovery of Rs 20 without it being proven that they had demanded a bribe.The case dates back to February 1996. A student had approached the Bechari Gram Panchayat office in Anand district to obtain an income certificate to avail educational concessions.The prosecution had alleged that the clerk had demanded Rs 120 to issue the certificate -- Rs 100 for himself and Rs 20 for the peon.Subsequently, the student lodged a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which then laid a trap and sent the student with marked notes of Rs 120.After receiving the certificate, the student had…
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