BENGALURU: In a bribery case registered before 14 years ago, The Principal Special court for CBI cases sentenced Income Tax Officer V Nagaraj and Chartered Accountant Naginchand V Kincha to 3 years' of simple imprisonment.
The Principal Special Court fined Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh on Income Tax Officer V Nagaraj and Chartered Accountant Naginchand V Kincha respectively.
IT officer Nagaraj had demanded Rs 20 lakh from A K Halim, an income tax assessee, for reducing his taxable amount of Rs 80 lakh to Rs. 30 lakh. Nagaraj obtained a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from Halim, through Naginchand V Kincha, which was recovered from the possession at his office during the trap laid by the CBI on September 8, 2012.
“This court should bear in mind the expectation of the society to prevent corruption in the public office by providing prompt conviction and stern sentence”, said Judge Manjunath Sangreshi while sentencing Nagaraj and Kincha, who is now 73 years old.
The accused have been sentenced for the offences punishable under Section 120-B of IPC, under Section 7, 8 and 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The court opined that the proved chain of facts and circumstances leads to an unavoidable conclusion that Nagaraj and Naginchand V Kincha acted towards the common object of the conspiracy, in order to obtain pecuniary advantage from the assessee relating to a tax matter. Thus, it stands proved beyond reasonable doubt, the court added.
The accused pleaded before the court for leniency in awarding the quantum of punishment, but the prosecution contended that the offences committed by the accused require a stringent approach and no lenient view could be taken in their favour, as the offences committed by the accused have an adverse effect on society.