In Brief
A former Kanoongo (village official) was convicted in 1991 of accepting a Rs. 1200 bribe from Gopal Singh in exchange for not arresting him. The High Court reduced his sentence, but he sought further relief. The Supreme Court found special reasons to further reduce the jail term: he was 78 years old, suffering from heart ailment, the 1985 incident was 34 years old, he had already served just over one month in jail, maintained bail compliance, and the bribe was nominal. The Court imposed a sentence of time already served and enhanced the fine from Rs. 3000 to Rs. 10,000 to balance the ends of justice.
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