(1.) ON 22.11.1995 a memorandum was issued to the petitioner proposing to hold an inquiry under Rule 153 of the RPF Rules 1987 on the charge that while functioning as an Inspector RPF Loco-shed, Central Railway, Jhansi he failed to maintain absolute integrity and devotion to duty and committed misconduct by demanding and accepting bribe in sum of '200/- from Babu Ram Verma as the balance payment of '4,500/-, which amount was recovered from his possession at 9:00 AM on 29.5.1993 at 509-B, Rani Laxmi Nagar, Jhansi.
(2.) THE stand taken by the petitioner was that he had no occasion to receive any bribe from Babu Ram Verma against whom he had already issued a charge sheet and the alleged consideration for the bribe, as stated by Babu Ram Verma, was the consideration by the petitioner not to charge sheet him. It was the further stand of the petitioner that it was ridiculous for him to have received '4,300/- as the alleged bribe money and still continued to persist to demand the balance '200/-. Accepting that he had received '200/- from Babu Ram Verma, the justification given was that he had lent money to Babu Ram Verma, who was his subordinate and had pleaded for '1,000/- to be advanced by way of friendly loan on the ground that he needed the money very urgently and that Babu Ram Verma was returning '200/- to him. It was the case of the petitioner that since he had charge sheeted Babu Ram Verma, he i.e. Babu Ram Verma had contrived a trap which was false.
(3.) AS per the trap, two independent witnesses, Sh.Rajiv Kumar Saxena PW-5 an employee of United India Insurance Company and Tapan Kumar Singhal PW-7 an employee of New India ASsurance Company were associated as independent witnesses to the trap and relevant would it be to note that neither of them deposed of having heard any conversation between the petitioner and Babu Ram Verma when money exchanged hands.