JAIL TIME FOR TAX CORRUPTION: 2 IT Officials Sentenced for ₹15 Lakh Bribe
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!A special CBI court in Jodhpur has sentenced former Chief Income Tax Commissioner Pawan Kumar Sharma and Inspector Shailendra Bhandari to four years in prison each for accepting a ₹15 lakh bribe.
The officials were caught in a trap set by the CBI in 2015 after Barmer businessman Kishore Jain complained they inflated his tax liability from ₹2.5 crore to ₹12 crore and demanded a bribe to settle it.
In addition to the jail term, the court imposed a ₹1.10 lakh fine on each official, emphasizing that their corruption seriously undermined public trust. A jeweller accused of acting as a middleman was acquitted due to a lack of evidence. Sharma also faces a separate case for possessing disproportionate assets.
Formal and Detailed Summary (For a press release or formal article)
Court Delivers Four-Year Sentence to Corrupt Income Tax Officials
A special CBI court has convicted two senior Income Tax officials, including a former chief commissioner and an inspector, handing down a four-year prison sentence to each for corruption.
The convicted officials, Pawan Kumar Sharma and Shailendra Bhandari, were found guilty of accepting a ₹15 lakh bribe from a businessman, Kishore Jain, after allegedly inflating his tax liability from ₹2.5 crore to ₹12 crore. The case dates back to March 2015, when CBI arrested the officials following a successful trap operation.
Presiding Officer Bhupendra Sanadhya noted that the actions constituted “serious corruption,” eroding public faith in government institutions. Both men were also ordered to pay a ₹1.10 lakh fine.
While a jeweller, Chandra Prakash Katta, who was arrested as an alleged middleman, was acquitted, the investigation also uncovered a separate case against Sharma for possessing disproportionate assets across eight properties nationwide
Focus on the Impact and Public Trust (More analytical tone)
Undermining Trust: IT Officials Jailed for Four Years in Corruption Case
In a decisive judgment against corruption, a Jodhpur special CBI court sentenced two Income Tax officials to four years in prison for demanding and accepting a bribe. The court delivered a strong message, stating that the actions of Chief Commissioner Pawan Kumar Sharma and Inspector Shailendra Bhandari directly undermined public trust in government institutions.
The case centered on a ₹15 lakh payoff, part of a negotiated bribe to reduce an illegally inflated tax liability, which the officials had ballooned from ₹2.5 crore to ₹12 crore. The officials were caught in a CBI trap following a complaint by the victimized businessman.
The judgment includes a ₹1.10 lakh fine for each convict. Although the alleged middleman was acquitted, the investigation into Sharma also triggered a major separate case regarding his disproportionate assets, highlighting a wider pattern of illicit wealth accumulat
