Corrupt government employees, least of all those working in courts, rarely get convicted for graft. Here’s a case of two such people getting the slammer.

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Two court staffers, each of whom sought a bribe of Rs100 from a lawyer for releasing the certified copy of an order in 2003, have been sentenced to a year’s imprisonment. The lawyer, Hitendra Dedia, who had independent practice then, is now a public prosecutor with the Bombay high court (HC). He has handled several cases against government officials under the Prevention of Corruption Act as a prosecutor in the sessions court.

In 2003, Dedia was practicing in the co-operative court with his wife Usha. They were representing Dinesh Shah and needed the certified copy of the order to challenge it in the HC. But the court staff would give the Dedias excuses in place of the copy.

On August 14, 2003, about a month after Dedia applied for the copy, one of the staffers, Sunil Nikhalje, a stenographer, demanded a bribe of Rs300. Two other staffers — Shamakant Marchande, a clerk, and Parshuram (now dead), a peon — were present at the scene. When Dedia said he had only Rs50, Nikhalje told him he could give the remaining amount two days later.

Nikhalje said while he and Marchande would keep Rs100 each, Parshuram would be given Rs50. Dedia complained to the anti-corruption bureau (ACB), which laid a trap and caught Nikhalje accepting the bribe red-handed.

Additional public prosecutor Sheela Jamdar examined four witnesses, including Dedia, to seal the case. Considering the evidence on record, special judge PH Mali convicted the two accused and fined them Rs600 each besides sending them to jail.