Rs 5 bribe lands stamp vendor in jail for 2 yrs

Demanding a bribe of Rs 5 has proved costly for a stamp vendor and her salesman, who were today sentenced for a two-year rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court.

Demanding a bribe of Rs 5 has proved costly for a stamp vendor and her salesman, who were today sentenced for a two-year rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court.

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Manju Agrawal, 48, and her 26-year-old salesman Deepak Sharma were held guilty by Special Judge BR Kedia for entering into a conspiracy to sell stamp paper at a premium of Rs 5. “I have no hesitation to safely conclude that in pursuance of the criminal conspiracy hatched by both the accused to sell stamp paper on premium, accused Deepak Sharma demanded Rs 55 as against sale of stamp paper of Rs 50 on behalf of Manju Agarwal,” the judge said. It also imposed a fine of
Rs 15,000 on Agarwal and Rs 5,000 on Sharma.

The court noted that the stamp vendor used to get commission from the government for sale of stamp paper and demanding extra amount amounted to demanding bribe. The case was filed on the complaint of Satish, alias Shish Pal, who had gone to buy a stamp paper from Agarwal at Karkardooma Court Complex on December 4, 2003.