Surat court sentences Talati-Mantri to 3-year jail in 2008 bribery case

Surat: A Surat court has sentenced a Talati-Mantri (village revenue officer) to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹25,000 after convicting him in a 2008 bribery case involving just ₹1,000.

The accused, Himmat Solanki, had demanded a bribe from a land broker in exchange for providing land-related documents in Singanpor village, Surat. After some negotiation, the amount was settled at ₹800, and a meeting was scheduled at Solanki’s office on March 25, 2008.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the Surat Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which set a trap and caught the accused red-handed. After 18 years of proceedings, the court found Solanki guilty and sentenced him to three years of rigorous imprisonment along with a ₹25,000 fine. In case of non-payment, he will serve an additional three months in jail. DeshGujarat