📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Gyanendra_Singh_Chau…
Crime
Jabalpur High Court Upholds Patwari’s Acquittal in 30-Year-Old Rs 300 Bribe Case
✍️ Amar Ujala · Madhya Pradesh
🗓 30 Sep 2026, 01:00 PM
👁 8
The Jabalpur High Court rejected the state government's appeal, maintaining the lower court’s order that cleared the former patwari of a decades‑old bribery charge.
The Jabalpur High Court has dismissed the Madhya Pradesh government's appeal against the acquittal of a former patwari, thereby upholding the decision of the lower court. The appellate bench ruled that the earlier judgment, which found the patwari not guilty of accepting a Rs 300 bribe, stands as is.
The case dates back nearly three decades, when the patwari was accused of taking a small cash payment in exchange for favouring a land record alteration. After a prolonged trial, the trial court concluded that the evidence was insufficient and discharged the official. The state government subsequently challenged that verdict, but the High Court found no merit in the appeal.
Legal experts note that the ruling underscores the principle that even long‑standing cases must meet the burden of proof, and that procedural lapses cannot be overlooked merely because of the passage of time. The decision brings closure to a matter that has lingered in the judicial system for years.
No further legal action has been indicated, and the former patwari is now free from the pending criminal allegation.
The case dates back nearly three decades, when the patwari was accused of taking a small cash payment in exchange for favouring a land record alteration. After a prolonged trial, the trial court concluded that the evidence was insufficient and discharged the official. The state government subsequently challenged that verdict, but the High Court found no merit in the appeal.
Legal experts note that the ruling underscores the principle that even long‑standing cases must meet the burden of proof, and that procedural lapses cannot be overlooked merely because of the passage of time. The decision brings closure to a matter that has lingered in the judicial system for years.
No further legal action has been indicated, and the former patwari is now free from the pending criminal allegation.