NEW DELHI: In a corruption case dating back over four decades, the Delhi High Court has granted relief to a 90-year-old former government officer, commuting his sentence to the period already undergone, just one day in custody, citing extraordinary delay and the man’s fragile health.
The case concerned Surendra Kumar, who was working as Chief Marketing Manager at the State Trading Corporation of India (STC) when he was arrested in 1984 on allegations of demanding a bribe of Rs 15,000 from a supplier.
Though he was granted bail shortly after his arrest, Kumar was convicted in 2002 and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 15,000. Kumar filed an appeal the same year, and a coordinate bench had allowed him to remain on bail.
However, the appeal itself remained pending for over 22 years, with the trial having already taken nearly 19 years to conclude. In a judgment delivered on July 8, Justice Jasmeet Singh noted that the legal proceedings had dragged on for over 40 years, a delay that was in clear contradiction to the right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.
“The Sword of Damocles’ and uncertainty qua the fate of the case of the appellant have been uncertain for a period of nearly 40 years and that by itself is a mitigating factor,” the Court observed. According to the FIR registered in 1984, STC had invited quotations for 140 tonnes of dried fish. A partner of a Mumbai-based firm, Abdul Karim Hamid, who had submitted a quotation, later alleged that Kumar promised to place the order in his firm’s favour in exchange for a bribe.
A trap was laid, and Kumar was caught with Rs 7,500, half of the alleged bribe, during a meeting at a hotel.
Kumar was convicted under Section 5(1)(d) read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and Section 161 of the Indian Penal Code.
In the High Court, his counsel chose not to press the appeal on merits but pleaded for reduction of sentence, highlighting that Kumar had not caused any delay in proceedings, had spent only a day in custody, was over 90 years old, and was suffering from serious age-related ailments. The Court was informed that he had already paid the fine imposed by the trial court.