Corruption by a public servant has become a "gigantic problem" and has a "deep and pervasive impact" on the functioning of the entire nation, a special court here has said while sentencing an Income Tax Department officer after convicting her in a Rs 75,000 bribery case.

Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court judge M R Purwar on Wednesday held Preetha Babukuttan guilty of the offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act and sentenced the 52-year-old officer to four years of rigorous imprisonment.