Identical punishment has NOT been prescribed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 in respect of habitual commission of the offence of

Correct option is C

The correct answer is (c) a public servant dishonestly misappropriating any property entrusted to him as a public servant.

Explanation

The Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), 1988, provides for enhanced punishment for "habitual offenders" under Section 14. The 2018 Amendment simplified this section, but to understand the logic of "identical punishment," we must look at how the law categorizes habitual offences.

• Section 14 (Post-2018): Currently, Section 14 prescribes a uniform punishment for any person who, having been convicted of an offence under the Act, subsequently commits any offence under the Act. The punishment is imprisonment for 5 to 10 years plus a fine.
• The Nuance in the Question: The question refers to the specific structure where certain acts are grouped together for the purpose of habitual punishment. In the original 1988 Act (which many competitive exams still test upon), Section 14 specifically grouped habitual commission of offences under Sections 8, 9, and 12 together with an identical punishment (2 to 7 years at that time).
• Option (a): Refers to Section 12 (Abetment of Section 11 offences).
• Option (b): Refers to Section 8 (Taking gratification to influence public servant).
• Option (d): Refers to Section 9 (Taking gratification for personal influence).
• Why (c) is the outlier: Option (c) describes Criminal Misconduct under Section 13(1)(a). Historically and structurally, criminal misconduct by a public servant (misappropriation or disproportionate assets) has always been treated as a distinct, more severe category with its own specific sentencing bracket, separate from the "influence-peddling" and "abetment" offences mentioned in Sections 8, 9, and 12.