The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
CHAPTER III: OFFENCES AND PENALTIES
Section 7: Offence Relating To Public Servant Being Bribed
Bare Act
7 Offence relating to public servant being bribed - Any public servant who,
- obtains or accepts or attempts to obtain from any person, an undue advantage, with the intention to perform or cause performance of public duty improperly or dishonestly or to forbear or cause forbearance to perform such duty either by himself or by another public servant; or
- obtains or accepts or attempts to obtain, an undue advantage from any person as a reward for the improper or dishonest performance of a public duty or for forbearing to perform such duty either by himself or another public servant; or
- performs or induces another public servant to perform improperly or dishonestly a public duty or to forbear performance of such duty in anticipation of or in consequence of accepting an undue advantage from any person,
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation 1 - For the purpose of this section, the obtaining, accepting, or the attempting to obtain an undue advantage shall itself constitute an offence even if the performance of a public duty by public servant, is not or has not been improper.
Illustration - A public servant, 'S' asks a person, 'P' to give him an amount of five thousand rupees to process his routine ration card application on time. 'S' is guilty of an offence under this section.
Explanation 2 - For the purpose of this section,
- the expressions "obtains" or "accepts" or "attempts to obtain" shall cover cases where a person being a public servant, obtains or "accepts" or attempts to obtain, any undue advantage for himself or for another person, by abusing his position as a public servant or by using his personal influence over another public servant; or by any other corrupt or illegal means;
- it shall be immaterial whether such person being a public servant obtains or accepts, or attempts to obtain the undue advantage directly or through a third party.
Simplified Act
Understanding Bribery of Public Servants
If a public servant does any of the following, they're breaking the law:
- Takes or tries to take a bribe, intending to not do their job properly or to get someone else not to do their job properly.
- Takes or tries to take a bribe as a reward for not doing their job properly or for getting someone else not to do their job properly.
- Does their job badly or gets someone else to do their job badly because they expect to get or have already gotten a bribe.
The punishment for this crime is being put in jail for at least three years, up to seven years, and they might also have to pay a fine.
Additional Clarifications:
Clarification 1: Just taking, accepting, or trying to take a bribe is a crime, even if the public servant doesn't actually do their job badly.
Example: If a public servant named 'S' asks someone 'P' to pay them five thousand rupees to process a routine application on time, 'S' is committing a crime.
Clarification 2: When we talk about taking or trying to take a bribe:
- It includes situations where a public servant abuses their power, uses personal influence, or does something corrupt or illegal to get a bribe for themselves or someone else.
- It doesn't matter if the public servant gets the bribe directly or through someone else.
Explanation using examples
Example of Section 7 of The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988:
Imagine a government official, Mr. A, who is responsible for issuing driving licenses. An individual, Mr. B, approaches Mr. A for his driving license which is due for renewal. Mr. A suggests that the process could be 'expedited' if Mr. B pays a 'fee' of Rs. 2,000 over and above the official cost. Mr. B, feeling pressured, agrees and pays the money. In this scenario, Mr. A has committed an offence under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act by accepting an undue advantage with the intention to perform his duty improperly.
