Rs 100 'too small' bribe amount and trivial matter, says Bombay HC
upholds acquittal of govt official
Mumbai (PTI): An amount of Rs 100 seems to be "too small" as a bribe in the year 2007 and more so now, the Bombay High Court has said while acquitting a government medical officer in a corruption and bribery case.
A single bench of Justice Jitendra Jain on Tuesday said it was a fit case to be treated as a trivial matter and upheld the trial court order acquitting the medical officer.
In 2007, one L T Pingale accused Dr Anil Shinde, the medical officer of a rural hospital at Paud in Maharashtra's Pune district, of seeking Rs 100 to certify his injuries following an alleged assault by his nephew.
Pingale complained to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which laid a trap and caught Shinde red-handed. He was prosecuted under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
In January 2012, a special court acquitted Shinde of all charges which was challenged by the state in the HC.
The high court, however, found no merit in the state's appeal.
"In the instant case, the allegation is acceptance of a bribe of Rs 100 in the year 2007. The amount appears to be too small in the year 2007 and more so, in the year 2023 when the appeal is being heard against the acquittal," the bench said in its order.
"Therefore, assuming that the appellant-complainant is able to prove the charges (although, I have already held that they have failed to prove the charges), in my view after considering quantum at the relevant time this could be a fit case to be treated as a trivial matter to uphold the acquittal order," it said.
The bench relied on certain provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act that if the alleged bribe of gratification is trivial, then no inference of corruption may be drawn and the court may refuse to presume that the accused is corrupt.
The high court dismissed the state government's appeal.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
