'Corruption so rampant the honest are seen as foolish'

TNN / Updated: Mar 5, 2024, 08:58 IST

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Two income tax officers in Ahmedabad were sentenced to 3 years in jail and fined Rs 50,000 each for accepting a bribe. The court noted that corruption is widespread in India and that honest people are seen as foolish.

'Corruption so rampant the honest are seen as foolish'

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AHMEDABAD: Corruption is so widespread in India that honest people remain unrecognized and are considered foolish by modern society, a CBI court here observed so while sentencing two income tax officers to three years in jail for corruption.
The case involved two former income tax officers, Mahesh Sompura and Mukesh Raval, who were posted in Ahmedabad. They were caught red-handed in Aug 2011 accepting a bribe to settle the tax scrutiny of a couple. They had demanded Rs 1.75 lakh and settled for Rs 50,000. They were charged and tried for criminal conspiracy and violation of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Special CBI judge V V Parmar found the two retired officers guilty of corrupt practices and sentenced them to three years in jail and a fine of Rs 50,000 each.

In its order, the court said, "Corruption nowadays has become monstrous in India. People who work on the right principles are unrecognized and considered foolish by modern society. In India, a bribe is paid for getting the right things done at the right time."
Upon the convicts pleading for leniency citing their advanced age, the court said, "It will be a mockery of justice to permit the accused to escape the extreme penalty of law when faced with such acts. To give lesser punishment to the accused would be to render the justice system of this country suspect. The common man will lose faith in courts. In such cases, he understands and appreciates the language of deterrence more than the reformative jargon. Therefore, undue sympathy to impose inadequate sentences would do more harm to the justice system and undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law."
The court further said, "Misplaced sympathy or unwarranted leniency will send the wrong signal to the public giving room to suspect the institutional integrity affecting the credibility of this verdict. On perusal of the case on hand, both the accused are now over 73 years of age and living a retired life, so there does not seem to be any question of reforming them now."

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