A special court hearing Anti-Corruption Bureau cases has sentenced former Surat Municipal Corporation junior engineer Rati Zaveri to three years in prison and imposed a Rs 1 lakh fine for demanding and accepting a Rs 20,000 bribe from a shop owner facing threatened demolition action.
The court convicted Zaveri in the case after examining prosecution evidence, witness testimonies and documentary records. The former engineer was posted in SMC’s Katargam zone when the alleged bribery took place in 2011.
According to the case records presented before the court, Zaveri visited the complainant’s grocery shop and alleged that the building had been constructed illegally on a reserved plot. He warned that the structure would be demolished. The complainant maintained that the property had been built with valid approvals and supporting documents.
The complainant then requested that demolition action not be initiated. The prosecution told the court that Zaveri demanded Rs 20,000 in exchange for stopping the proposed action. The complainant initially paid Rs 11,000 and later handed over smaller amounts, but Zaveri continued to demand the remaining Rs 7,000.
The complainant subsequently approached the Anti-Corruption Bureau and lodged a complaint. Investigators laid a trap and caught Zaveri while he arrived to collect the balance amount, the prosecution said. The arrest took place during the 2011 investigation, after which the case proceeded to trial.
The case illustrates the role of municipal officials in decisions that can directly affect property owners, including notices, demolition threats and scrutiny of building approvals. Such enforcement powers place local officials at the point where planning rules and citizens’ documents are tested in practice. The court proceedings focused on whether Zaveri had demanded and accepted money in connection with stopping the proposed action.
After hearing both sides and examining the evidence on record, the special court found Zaveri guilty. In addition to the three-year imprisonment, it imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh. The conviction and sentence conclude the trial arising from the Anti-Corruption Bureau trap conducted after the complainant reported the demand for the remaining Rs 7,000.
