RAMANJANEYA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition filed under Section 482 Code of Criminal Procedure, the Petitioner has sought for quashing the FIR, the charge sheet and the entire criminal proceedings initiated against him by the Respondent - Lokayukta Police, City Division, Bangalore in Spl. C.C. No. 45/11, on the file of the Special Judge, Bangalore City.

(2.) The case of the prosecution is as under:

(3.) On the basis of this complaint lodged at 11.15 a.m. on 29.11.2010, the Police Inspector Lokayuktha registered the case in Crime No. 56/10 for the offence punishable under Section 13(1)(d) r/w Section 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act and thereafter made arrangements to lay a trap; thereafter the police Inspector Lokayukhta secured presence of two independent witnesses from the KGID office and in their presence drew up entrustment mahazar between 1.2.10 pm and 1.00 pm on the same day, during which period the complaint produced 50 currency notes of the denomination of 1,000/-; the details of those notes were noted down and all those notes were smeared with phenolphthalein powder on either sides and the same was kept in the pant pocket of the complainant; thereafter all of them came to the office of the Spl. D.C. and at about 4.00 pm, the complainant met the Spl. D.C. along with a shadow witness and told the Spl. D.C. that he has brought the money as demanded and at that time the Spl. D.C. asked one Naveen (Accused No. 3) who was there to get some other person and within about 5 to 6 minutes one aged person (accused No. 4) came to the office of the Spl. D.C. and at that time the Spl. D.C. asked the said old person to go out and take the money; thereafter the complainant, said Naveen and the aged person came to the parking place where a Maruthi Swift car had been parked in which one Venkatesh Babu (accused No. 2) was sitting and at that place, the old man asked the complainant to pay the money to the said Venkatesh Babu; thereafter said Venkatesh Babu took the complainant out of the Deputy Commissioner's Office compound and received the money from the complainant; thereafter the complainant gave the prearranged signal to the Lokayuktha Police who immediately surrounded and caught hold of Venkatesh Babu and others and thereafter brought them inside the chambers of the Spl. D.C. where they washed the hands of said Venkatesh Babu in colorless Sodium Carbonate solution which turned into pink and thereafter the money which had been received form the complainant was also recovered from the person of said Venkatesh Babu and on verification, those currency notes were found tallying with the serial numbers of the currency notes mentioned in the entrustment mahazar, therefore, those currency notes were seized, all the 3 accused persons along with the Spl. D.C. were apprehended and to this effect a detailed mahazar was drawn. After completing the investigation, the Investigating Officer has filed the charge sheet against the Petitioner herein and 3 others for the offences punishable under Sections 7,13(1)(d) r/w 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120B of IPC. The Special Judge before whom the charge sheet came to be filed took cognizance of the offences alleged and directed for issue of summons.