Politics
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Supreme Court acquits two in Rs 20 bribe case
Verdictum··20 Aug
On 19 August 2026, the Supreme Court acquitted a former Gujarat talati-cum-mantri and a gram panchayat peon in a 1996 bribery case over Rs 20. Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S Chandurkar set aside convictions under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The case is Rafikmiya Ahmedmiya Malek versus State of Gujarat, cited as 2026 INSC 890.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you are a complainant in a bribery trap, this ruling repeats that the court will look first at whether demand was proved, not only at money recovered.
- Public servants named in old Prevention of Corruption Act cases can note the Bench relied on N Vijayakumar versus State of Tamil Nadu on the same point.
- Anyone waiting on a sanction to prosecute should note the Court separately found the talati's sanction had been granted by an officer not competent to do so.
What's Happening
- The appeals were Criminal Appeal Nos. 1177 and 1183 of 2015, filed by Rafikmiya Ahmedmiya Malek and Sirajbhai Rasulbhai Vora.
- The Gujarat High Court had upheld convictions under Sections 7, 12 and 13(1)(d) of the 1988 Act.
- The Bench said mere possession of a Rs 20 note with anthracene powder was not enough to hold the charge proved.
How A 1996 Trap Reached The Supreme Court In 2026
- The income certificate was sought for educational concessions. The Anti-Corruption Bureau laid a trap after the student's complaint.
- The trial court convicted both employees in 1999. The High Court dismissed their appeals in 2015, after which the Supreme Court appeals remained pending for more than a decade.
- The Court said the High Court had erred in drawing the Section 20 presumption merely because the accused were public servants and a tainted note was recovered.
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