CBI court awards five-year jail to agri ministry officer in 2016 graft case

Gupta had sought bribe from a lawyer for clearing her legal fees amounting to ₹25 lakh for representing the Union ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare

The special court of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Panchkula, on Wednesday awarded five-year imprisonment to Rajeev Kumar Gupta, an agriculture ministry accounts officer, convicted of seeking ₹55,000 in bribe from an advocate of the Punjab and Haryana high court in 2016.

Rajeev Kumar Gupta was awarded two sentences of five and four years each, which will run concurrently. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Held guilty under Sections 7, 13 (1) (d) read with 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Gupta was awarded two sentences of five and four years each, which will run concurrently. He will also pay ₹1 lakh as fine.

Gupta had sought the bribe from complainant, Ranjana Shahi, for clearing her legal fees amounting to ₹25 lakh for representing the Union ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare.

Stating that the convict did not deserve leniency, the court observed that corrupt government officials forced counsels, who defend the government in court, to run from pillar to post to get their lawful dues released.

As per CBI, in 2016, Gupta was posted as a senior accounts officer with the Pay and Account Office (Plant Protection and Miscellaneous) of the Union ministry of agriculture in Haryana’s Faridabad.

Shahi, a resident of Sector 40, Chandigarh, was a senior panel counsel for the Union of India in the high court and had been representing the ministry of agriculture’s department of agriculture, cooperation and farmers’ welfare, Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage. For this, around ₹25 lakh on account of legal fees had to be disbursed to her.

Despite a sanction order by the government, Gupta did not clear her fees and demanded a bribe of ₹60,000 (8% of the sanctioned amount of ₹6.8 lakh).

On May 21, 2016, a trap was laid and Gupta was caught red-handed while accepting illegal gratification of ₹55,000 from the complainant. Following this, an FIR was registered by CBI Chandigarh.