HC upholds penalty on rail employee for taking bribe of Rs 300

The Delhi High Court today upheld the penalty imposed by the government on a railway employee for taking a bribe of Rs 300 from a decoy agent to expedite the addition of a coach to a passenger train in 2005.
Rajesh Singh, posted at New Delhi Railway station as Deputy Chief Yardmaster at the time of the incident, was awarded with a penalty of reduction in the pay-grade to the lowest grade of pay with cumulative effect for a period upto October 31, 2014 on the charge of corruption.
Dismissing the appeal filed by Rajesh Singh against the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) 2010 order, a bench of justices Pradeep Nandrajog and V Kemeswar Rao upheld CAT's order upholding the government's decision removing Singh from service on the charge of corruption.

"Railway is the largest employer in India. As a Deputy Chief Yardmaster, the petitioner (Singh) had large number of public dealings and we do not know how much illegal wealth may have been amassed by him. Keeping in view the position held by the petitioner, which was one of public trust, we do not find any dis-proportionality in the penalty imposed," the bench said.
Singh was arrested while accepting the bribe of Rs 300 from the decoy customer/trader for preferentially placing empty coach rake of 2622 New Delhi-Chennai Tamil Nadu Express on July 4, 2005.