Rs 100 too small bribe amount and trivial matter: Govt official accused of corruption gets Bombay HC relief

An amount of Rs 100 seems to be too small as a bribe in the year 2007 and more so now, the Bombay High Court has said while acquitting a government medical officer in a corruption and bribery case.

A single bench of Justice Jitendra Jain on Tuesday said it was a fit case to be treated as a trivial matter and upheld the trial court order acquitting the medical officer. Dr. Anil Shinde, the medical officer of a small hospital in the village of Paud in Maharashtra's Pune district, was accused by a man named L. T. Pingale of asking for Rs. 100 to certify his injuries following an alleged assault by his nephew in 2007.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau investigated Pingale's complaint and set up a trap, catching Shinde in the act. He was charged in accordance with the Prevention of Corruption Act's guidelines. The high court, however, found no merit in the state's appeal.

In the instant case, the allegation is acceptance of a bribe of Rs 100 in the year 2007. The amount appears to be too small in the year 2007 and more so, in the year 2023 when the appeal is being heard against the acquittal, the bench said in its order. Therefore, assuming that the appellant-complainant is able to prove the charges (although, I have already held that they have failed to prove the charges), in my view after considering quantum at the relevant time this could be a fit case to be treated as a trivial matter to uphold the acquittal order, it said.