SANJAY SABHARWAL Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is filed under section 374(2) of Crimial P.C. challenging the judgment of conviction passed by the XXI Addl. City Civil & Sessions Judge and Special Judge for CBI cases, Bengaluru in Spl.C.C. No.258/2004. By the impugned judgment, the appellant is convicted for the offences punishable under sections 7, 13(1) (d) r/w 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1998 (hereinafter referred to as ' Act- ). The appellant is sentenced to simple imprisonment for 18 months and is directed to pay a fine of Rs.10,000.00 for both the offences and in default of payment of fine, to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of three months.

(2.) The appellant was serving as an Executive Engineer, BSNL, Civil Division-II, Bengaluru. The case of the prosecution is that the appellant/accused demanded a bribe of Rs.4,000.00 from PW-4(complainant) as a motive or reward for making the payment of pending bills. The complainant was not inclined to pay the bribe amount. Hence, he approached the Inspector of CBI, Sri K.Hari Om Prakash-PW-5. He lodged the complaint as per Ex-P42 between 10.30 a.m. or 11.00 a.m. on 7.4.2004. The trap laying officer PW-5 secured two independent witnesses. Pre-trap formalities were conducted in the office of PW-5. At about 4.30 p.m., the complainant and the trap laying team proceeded to the office of the accused. It is the specific case of the prosecution that the complainant asked the shadow witness PW-1 to stay back as he apprehended that the accused may not receive the demanded money from the complainant in the presence of an outsider. The complainant PW-4 alone went to the office of the accused. According to the complainant, he offered to pay the demanded bribe of Rs.4,000.00, but the accused asked him to pay the said amount in his house saying that another bill for Rs.38,786.00 was also to be passed by the accused. According to the complainant, the accused wrote the name of his apartment and his phone number on a small chit Ex- P5. The complainant returned to the office of the trap laying officer (TLO) PW-5. The proceedings of the day were recorded in a mahazar Ex-P The chit given by the accused was taken possession by PW-5.

(3.) On 8.4.2004, once again the trap formalities were conducted in the office of PW-5. At about 8.30 a.m., the complainant and the trap laying team proceeded to the residential apartment of the accused situated at Jakkur Main Road, Amruthahalli, Bengaluru. The name of the apartment was ' Shobha Windfall- . It is the case of the prosecution that before proceeding to the apartment of the accused, the complainant rang up to the mobile number given by the accused, but the phone was switched off and hence the complainant spoke to the accused through his landline number. At about 8.30 a.m., the complainant went to the apartment of the accused. The accused came down to the basement along with the complainant where the accused is stated to have received the tainted currency notes amounting to Rs.6,000.00, where after the accused went back to his apartment. The complainant came out of the apartment complex and flashed the pre-instructed signal to PW-5 and the raiding team went to the apartment of the accused situated on the 2nd floor of the apartment building. PW.5 kept on knocking the door. The accused opened the door after about five minutes. He was identified by the complainant and the hand wash of the accused was taken and it turned to ' pink colour- . The shirt pocket and the pant pocket of the accused were also subjected to chemical wash and both the solutions turned to ' pink colour- . The accused however declined to disclose the amount received by him and hence the raiding team started to search the apartment and at that time, at about 9.45. a.m. the accused informed the raiding team that he has thrown the tainted currency notes into the passage through the ventilator situated in the apartment.