P SATYANARAYAN MURTY Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed by the appellant Mr P. Satyanarayan Murty challenging the correctness of the judgment made in Criminal Appeal No. 1150 of 1987 on the file of the High court of Andhra Pradesh dismissing the appeal and confirming the conviction of the appellant under S. 5 (1 (e) read with S. 5 (2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) but reducing the sentence of imprisonment from two years to till rising of the court while retaining the fine of Rs. 20,000. 00 in default to suffer simple imprisonment for six months.

(2.) The charge against the appellant is that the appellant being a public servant employed as Assistant Agricultural Officer in Agricultural Department during 1966 and June 1977 and thereafter as Regional Transport Officer between 25/06/1977 and 15/09/1983, in the Transport Department acquired assets which were disproportionate to his known sources of income and that he was found in possession of pecuniary resources of property in his name and the names of his father P. Venkata Reddy and his wife Smt P. Satyavathi Devi of a value of Rs 5,39,050. 64 for which he could not give satisfactory account. The facts of the case are set out in detail in the judgments of the trial court and the High court. Hence we feel that it is not necessary to repeat the same in their entirety.

(3.) For the disposal of the appeal, it would be sufficient if we examine the correctness of the finding of the High court, according to which the total unaccounted disproportionate asset was to the value of Rs. 93,937.24 as against the finding of the trial court at Rs. 2,27,937.24. As rightly pointed out by Shri P. P. Rao, the learned senior counsel for the appellant the questions that arise for consideration are (1 whether the finding of the High court is supported by legal evidence and (2 whether the appellant has satisfactorily accounted his total assets, thereby showing that there is no disproportionate asset.