A retired railway booking clerk who demanded a bribe of Rs 100 back in 1995 will now go to jail at the age of 75, more than three decades after he was caught red handed by the CBI. Jharkhand High Court has confirmed his conviction for corruption, though the court cut down his jail term after weighing his age and the long delay in the case.
The matter goes back to a routine motorcycle booking at Hatia railway station near Ranchi, where the clerk allegedly asked for Rs 100 extra over the legal charge to transport a motorcycle by train. When the customer refused to pay, he went to the CBI instead of giving in, setting off a chain of events that has taken 31 years to reach its conclusion.
What did the booking clerk actually do
The man had gone to book his motorcycle for transport from Hatia to Samastipur through the Maurya Express. The legal charge for this was Rs 203. According to the complaint, the clerk told him he would only book the vehicle if he was paid Rs 100 more, over and above this fee. Unwilling to pay a bribe, the man walked into the CBI office in Ranchi and gave a written complaint the very next day.
How did the CBI catch him red handed
CBI officials set up a trap using two independent witnesses from a coal company. A currency note was treated with phenolphthalein powder, a chemical that turns a sodium carbonate solution pink the moment it touches skin. The complainant went to the booking office with one of the witnesses, paid the booking charge, and then handed over the tainted Rs 100 note when the clerk demanded it. As soon as the signal was given, CBI officers walked in, and when the clerk's hand was dipped in the solution, it turned pink, confirming he had touched the bribe money.
What did the accused argue in his defence
The clerk denied ever demanding or accepting a bribe. His lawyers argued that the independent witnesses gave slightly different versions of events, that a cancelled train ticket worth Rs 112 was never seized as evidence, and that the complainant was not even the registered owner of the motorcycle at the time. They also pointed out that no CBI officer had personally verified the complaint before the trap was laid.
Jharkhand High Court rejected all of these arguments. The bench said the clerk himself had prepared and issued the booking receipt, which showed he was satisfied the paperwork was in order, and he never explained why he needed Rs 100 more than the fixed charge. The court noted that any amount collected by a public servant beyond the legal fee amounts to a bribe, regardless of what word is used to describe it.
Why did the court reduce his sentence
While upholding the conviction, the court took a lenient view on the punishment. The clerk is now 75 years old and suffering from age related illness. The case took nine years to reach a verdict at the trial court and then more than two decades to be decided in appeal. He has also already lost his government job and paid the fine imposed on him. The court said the sentence awarded by the trial court was too harsh given these circumstances and reduced it to the minimum term the law allows.
How long will he serve in jail
The trial court had originally sentenced him to one year in jail for demanding the bribe and one and a half years for misusing his position as a public servant, along with fines. Jharkhand High Court has now cut this down to six months for the bribe demand and one year for misusing his official position, with both terms running together. This means he will effectively serve one year in jail. The fine amount he already deposited will not change. He has been given two months to surrender before the trial court, failing which the court can take coercive steps to send him into custody.
