An Ahmedabad CBI court has sentenced Income Tax officer Jarnail B. Singh to three years’ rigorous imprisonment for accepting a ₹10,000 bribe to issue a tax exemption certificate to a charitable trust.
The court also imposed a fine of ₹20,000 on Singh in the bribery case.
Bribe Demanded for Tax Exemption Certificate
The CBI registered the case on February 22, 2013, after receiving a complaint alleging that Singh had demanded ₹10,000 from the complainant.
The bribe was allegedly sought for issuing a tax exemption certificate to Srilekha Charitable Trust under Sections 11 and 80G of the Income Tax Act.
At the time, Singh was posted as an Income Tax officer in the office of the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, Audit, Ahmedabad.
CBI Trap Leads to Arrest
Following the complaint, the CBI laid a trap and caught Singh red-handed while he was allegedly accepting the ₹10,000 from the complainant.
Singh was arrested on February 22, 2013, the same day the case was registered.
The investigating agency subsequently filed its chargesheet before the court on October 31, 2013.
Court Delivers Verdict
After examining the evidence and proceedings in the long-pending bribery case, the CBI court convicted Singh and sentenced him to three years of rigorous imprisonment.
The court also ordered him to pay a ₹20,000 fine.
