2016 GRAFT CASE
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar : A special CBI court on Wednesday sentenced a former central excise superintendent to four years of rigorous imprisonment for demanding and accepting a Rs 1,500 bribe from a young entrepreneur in 2016 in exchange for issuing a service tax registration number. Special judge Sanjay K Kulkarni convicted Subhash Devidasrao Ingole, then posted with the central excise, customs and service tax department’s Nanded range, under sections 7 [taking gratification] and 13(1)(d) [criminal misconduct — prior to 2018 amendment] read with Section 13(2) [punishment] of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. He said the court awarded Ingole three-year RI and a Rs 5,000 fine for accepting illegal gratification. For criminal misconduct, he was sentenced to four-year RI and fined Rs 10,000. The total fine imposed is Rs 15,000. Unwilling to pay the bribe, Bhange lodged a complaint with the superintendent of police, CBI’s anti-corruption branch (ACB), Nagpur, on Feb 29, 2016. The court also directed that the Rs 1,500 recovered during the trap be returned to the complainant after the appeal period. The period Ingole spent in custody from Feb 29 to March 1, 2016, will be set off against his sentence.
Public prosecutor D N Mhaske represented CBI. Both sentences will run concurrently. Failure to pay the fines will attract an additional three-month RI. Ingole was arrested and further investigation was handed over to inspector Shriram Lambade. During the trial, the prosecution examined eight witnesses. It also directed that the electronic evidence be preserved, while other seized articles, including hand-wash sample bottles, be destroyed once the appeal window closed.