S. VENKATAKRISHNA, S/O SANNANINGE GOWDA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA, REP. BY INSPECTOR, BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS criminal appeal is by A -1, who alone was convicted by the trial court in respect of the offences punishable under Sections 7, 13(1)(d) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and to pay fine of Rs. 10,000/ - in respect of conviction under Section 7 of the P.C. Act and to undergo two years rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 20,000/ -in respect of the offences punishable under Sections 13(1)(d) read with 13(2) of the P.C. Act, with default sentences.

(2.) THE prosecution case in short is that, A -1 to A -4, being employees of A.P.M.C., were attending the work of renewing the licences of traders and it was the duty of A -1 to receive the amounts from the applicants and A -2 to write receipts towards legal fee and A -3 and A -4 to write cash book of the N.S.C. register respectively. Sathyanarayana, Dy.S.P., Lokayuktha, got reliable information that, in the office of the A.P.M.C. at Mysore, the accused persons were collecting bribe amount along with legal fees and the bribe amount ranged from Rs. 500/ - to Rs. 800/ - and, after getting this information, the said Dy.S.P. (P.W.13) asked police constable Prakash Gowda (P.W.12) and one Krishna Murthy (P.W.2) to go to the office of the A.P.M.C. and accordingly, the said persons went there and at around 3.00 p.m., P.W.13 received telephonic message that 10 to 15 persons are getting the licences renewed and also paying the bribe to the officials and immediately, P.W. 13 went along with other police officials and saw some 10 to 15 persons waiting in the room and they were getting the licences renewed and thereafter, P.W.13 searched the table drawer of A -1 Venkatakrishna and found cash of Rs. 52,920/ - and on verifying the bill books produced by A 1 as per bill book Nos. 144 and 145, it was found that the total amount collected towards licences was Rs. 23,808/ - and, therefore, the excess amount of Rs. 29,112/ - out of the total amount of Rs. 52,920/ - was inferred as the bribe amount collected by the accused persons. As the accused did not give any satisfactory explanation, P.W.13 came back after verifying the other documents and lodged his complaint as per Ex.P -41.

(3.) THE learned trial judge, after evidence appreciation, accepted the prosecution case based on the evidence of P.Ws.1, 2 and 13. The other independent witnesses P.Ws.3 to 10 did not support the prosecution case. Despite the independent witnesses not supporting the prosecution case, the learned trial judge accepted the evidence to hold that the guilt of A -1 alone had been established and there was no evidence to connect A -2 to A -4. Accordingly, A -2 to A -4 were acquitted and therefore, this appeal is by A -1.