MG Ajayakumar, age 68, litigated a ₹5,000 bribery conviction all the way to the Supreme Court, lost at every step, and then exercised his final legal strategy: not showing up. Vigilance officials found him at home.
A former Block Development Officer in Kerala's Devikulam region was convicted years ago of demanding a ₹5,000 bribe to release housing scheme funds meant for a local family. He appealed to the Kerala High Court. He lost. He appealed to the Supreme Court. He lost again. Having exhausted the entire Indian judiciary on the matter of ₹5,000, he adopted a final strategy: not surrendering and going into hiding. Vigilance officials of the Idukki Unit located him at his home in Amaravila, Thiruvananthapuram, arrested him, and produced him before the Kottayam Vigilance Court. He is 68 years old. The bribe, for which he spent years appealing to the nation's highest court, was ₹5,000.