KARNATAKA LOKAYUKTHA BAGALKOTE DISTRICT, BAGALKOT Vs. CHANDRASHEKAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) Despite this Court having consistently held that disciplinary proceedings and criminal prosecution, even on an identical allegation, are parallel proceedings, the relevance of the conclusion in one is often contended to be binding on the other. Trite is the principle that in a disciplinary proceeding, the proof is of preponderance of probabilities while in a criminal proceeding, it has the higher standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt. Often it is argued that the acquittal in the criminal proceedings should inure to the benefit of the accused/delinquent employee in a disciplinary proceeding too. In the present case, we have a contrary contention of the disciplinary proceedings having exonerated the delinquent employee, who seeks absolution from the criminal prosecution. The contention is that when the allegations could not be proved in a disciplinary proceeding where the requirement is only of preponderance of probabilities, surely it cannot be proved beyond reasonable doubt.

(3.) The appellant is the Lokayukta of the State of Karnataka, an independent body tasked also to conduct enquiries on complaints of corruption and initiate and continue prosecution; such powers having been statutorily conferred under the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984. On facts, suffice it to notice that the respondent, an Executive Engineer (Electrical) with the Works and Maintenance Division, HESCOM, Bagalkot regulated by the Karnataka Electricity Transmission Corporation Limited Regulations, was alleged to have demanded a bribe from an electrical contractor to clear five bills, at the rate of Rupees two thousand each. The contractor complained to the AntiPage Corruption Bureau [for short, the ACB] who prepared a trap, with identifiable, powdered notes kept in a packet entrusted with the complainant, to be handed over to the Executive Engineer. The trap was successful, and the notes were recovered from the pocket of the Executive Engineer whose hands turned pink on dipping in the prepared solution, which proved the taint of corruption.