The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a former excise constable from Uttarakhand in a decades-old bribery case dating back to 1990, while reducing his sentence in view of his advanced age and time already spent in custody. The case, which began more than 35 years ago, involved the constable being caught accepting a ₹500 bribe during a trap operation.
A bench comprising Justices Pankaj Mithal and P. B. Varale was hearing the appeal filed by the former constable challenging a 2012 judgment of the Uttarakhand High Court. The High Court had dismissed his appeal and affirmed the trial court’s decision sentencing him to two years of rigorous imprisonment under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.
In its order dated March 13, the Supreme Court held that there was no error in the High Court’s decision sustaining both the conviction and the sentence imposed by the trial court. However, the bench noted that the accused is now 75 years old and had already spent more than two months in jail.
Taking these circumstances into account, the Court modified the punishment while maintaining the conviction. The bench observed:
“We are of the opinion that the sentence awarded by the trial court and upheld by the high court can be modified to the extent of a minimum sentence for the said offences.”
Accordingly, the Court reduced the imprisonment term to one year for the offence of criminal misconduct by a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The case traces back to June 19, 1990, when the excise constable was caught accepting a ₹500 bribe during a trap operation conducted in Udham Singh Nagar district. Following the trap proceedings, an FIR was registered against him.
The matter was committed to a sessions court in the following year. After prolonged proceedings, the trial court eventually convicted the constable in 2006 and sentenced him to two years of rigorous imprisonment.
He later challenged the conviction before the Uttarakhand High Court, which dismissed his appeal in 2012. The accused then approached the Supreme Court, where the matter remained pending for years.
The constable has been on bail since January 2013 while pursuing his appeal before the apex court. With its latest ruling, the Supreme Court has affirmed the findings of guilt while reducing the duration of the prison sentence.
