Seven-Year Imprisonment for Former Ernakulam ADM in Bribery Case

The former Ernakulam Additional District Magistrate, B Ramachandran, received a seven-year prison sentence and a Rs five lakh fine for accepting a bribe in 2015 to issue a No Objection Certificate for a fireworks shop license renewal in Tripunithura. He was convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In a significant ruling, the former Ernakulam Additional District Magistrate, B Ramachandran, has been sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment by the Kottayam Vigilance Court. The court also imposed a fine of Rs five lakh on him for his involvement in a 2015 bribery case connected to a fireworks shop in Tripunithura.

Judge K V Rajanish found Ramachandran guilty of demanding and accepting a bribe to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for renewing a license. During the hearing, the prosecution detailed how Ramachandran, during an inspection as the ADM, insisted the NOC would only be granted upon receiving a bribe.

The prosecution revealed that the complainant, after repeated demands for bribes, reported the incident to authorities, leading to a successful sting operation by the Vigilance department. The former ADM was caught accepting the bribe, underscoring the vigilance unit's commitment to combatting corruption.