Bench Clerk Acquitted in ₹500 Bribery Case; Demand for Illegal Gratification Not Proved: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has set aside the 2003 conviction of Shailendra Manikrao Bakare, a bench clerk working in a Pune magistrate’s court, in a bribery case. The court observed that the prosecution failed to prove a crucial element of the offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988—the demand for illegal gratification—despite the recovery of tainted currency notes from the appellant. The case originated from a complaint filed in…