Man Took Rs 100 Bribe 31 Years Ago, Will Now Spend A Year In Jail At 75

The Jharkhand High Court on Thursday upheld the conviction of former parcel clerk Kali Shankar Dhobi in a case involving the acceptance of a Rs 100 bribe at Ranchi's Hatia Railway Station in 1995. 

At the time, Kali Shankar Dhobi was posted as a parcel clerk at Ranchi's Hatia Railway Station. The complainant, Nirmal Kumar Begani, wanted to ship his motorcycle from Hatia Railway Station to Samastipur in Bihar. 

It was alleged that the parcel clerk demanded a bribe of Rs 100 to book the motorcycle. The complainant subsequently informed the CBI. 

After verifying the complaint, the CBI laid a trap. 

On April 27, 1995, a CBI team caught the then-parcel clerk Kali Shankar Dhobi red-handed while accepting the Rs 100 bribe. 

A case was subsequently registered against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Following the CBI's action, the matter went to a special court. After a trial lasting nearly nine years, the special court convicted Kali Shankar Dhobi in 2004. The special court sentenced him to one year in prison and a fine of Rs 4,000 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. 

Additionally, he was sentenced to one and a half years in prison and a fine of Rs 6,000 under Section 13(2). The sentences under both sections were to run concurrently. Kali Shankar filed an appeal in the Jharkhand High Court against the trial court's verdict.

Case Dragged On For Over Two Decades In The High Court Too

After the trial court's verdict, the case moved to the High Court, but the proceedings there also took more than two decades to conclude. 

The case that began in 1995 remained tied up in legal proceedings for nearly 31 years. The case was heard in the court of Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava. After hearing arguments from both sides, the High Court upheld the trial court's conviction.

Relief In Sentencing At Age 75

However, the High Court reduced Kali Shankar Dhobi's sentence. The court took into account the prolonged duration of the case, his advanced age, and his ill health. The court reduced the one-year sentence under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act to six months. Meanwhile, the one-and-a-half-year sentence under Section 13(2) was reduced to one year. Both sentences will run concurrently, meaning Kali Shankar Dhobi will have to serve a maximum of one year in prison.

Kali Shankar Dhobi had already lost his railway job following his conviction in the case. It was also submitted to the High Court that he had no prior criminal record and this was his first offense. Despite these circumstances, however, the court did not set aside his conviction. 

The High Court has also cancelled his bail and directed him to surrender within two months.

Now, at the age of 75, he must serve a jail term in compliance with the court's order.