BANSHI LAL YADAV Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this case, the appellant Banshi Lal Yadav was convicted by learned Special. Judge for having committed an offence under S. 161 of the Indian Penal Code and S. 5(1)(d) read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and was sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for two years and to pay a fine of Rupees 500/- and in default, to suffer further rigorous imprisonment for six months on each count. The appellant filed Criminal Appeal No. 223 of 1978, in the High Court of judicature at Patna.

(2.) At the hearing of the appeal, the learned Judge first referred to the statement of the appellant recorded under Section 313 of Criminal Procedure Code at the conclusion of the trial. In this statement the relevant portion relied upon by the High Court may be extracted:

(3.) After referring to the statement of the accused, the learned Judge hearing the appeal reached the conclusion that the accused appellant had admitted receiving the marked tainted currency notes and therefore presumption under Section 4 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, would arise. The learned Judge then proceeded to hold that the accused appellant was not able to rebut the presumption and thereupon confirmed the conviction but reduced the sentence. The learned Judge did not examine other evidences led by the prosecution to prove that not only bribe was demanded by the appellant and a trap was arranged and the marked currency notes were offered by the decoy witness to the accused in the presence of panchas and the accused accepted the same as bribe. There was evidence of the decoy witness as well as the panchas who witnessed the passing of the money. All this evidence was not examined by the High Court though in the opening portion of the judgment, the prosecution case has been set out in meticulous details.