New Delhi - An Indian court has sentenced a 75-year old doctor to jail for receiving a 25 rupee (50 US cents) bribe nearly a quarter of a century ago, a news report said Wednesday.

Balgovind Prasad was arrested caught by police in eastern Patna city in 1985 for accepting the bribe from a sweeper to issue a fake medical certificate, the PTI news agency reported.

A trial court convicted him in 1992 and gave him a one-year jail term. He was immediately granted bail as he appealed the sentence in the Patna high court.

On Tuesday, the superior court upheld the sentence but commuted the doctor's imprisonment to three months in view of the fact that the bribe amount was so small and Prasad was old.

The Indian justice system is infamous for its delays. Tens of thousands of cases have gone on for years leading to a massive backlog in courts. (dpa)