NANAK CHAND Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant in this appeal has prayed for setting aside the judgment dated 20th January, 2000 by which the learned Special Judge, Delhi had held him guilty under Sections 7 and 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988( hereinafter to be referred as 'the Act of 1988') as also the order dated 24th January, 2000 by which he was awarded rigorous imprisonment for a period of six months under Section 7 and for a period of one year under Section 13(1)(d) in addition to fine on both counts.

(2.) Briefly stated, the facts of the case leading to the trial and conviction of the accused appellant are like this. Complaint (Ex. PW-5/A) was made to the anti corruption branch on 18th September,1990 by PW-5 Jai Parkash, who was working as a sweeper in Municipal Corporation of Delhi, against the accused appellant, who was working as a clerk in the West Zone Office of MCD in Rajouri Garden, that he wanted to have some part of his salary deducted for being deposited in G.P.F. and so he had approached the concerned clerk, accused appellant Nanak Chand and requested him to fill up his form so that deduction from his salary could start. The accused appellant however had demanded bribe of Rs.50/- from him for doing his job. When he told the accused appellant that he was poor person the amount of bribe was settled at Rs.40/-. Since PW-5 did not want to pay bribe he went to the Anti Corruption Branch and got his complaint recorded. It was recorded by PW-7 Inspector Abhey Ram who then decided to lay a trap upon the accused appellant. Two currency notes of Rs.20/- each were given by the complainant to PW-7 Inspector Abhey Ram for being used as bribe money during the raid which the Inspector decided to conduct to apprehend the accused appellant red handed while accepting bribe from the complainant. PW-7 then conducted pre-raid proceedings by recording the numbers of the two notes and treating them with phenolphthalein powder. The significance of treating the notes with phenolphthalein powder was told to the complainant and the panch witness(PW-6), who was a Government employee present there on duty to act as a panch witness in case some raid was to be conducted. It was told to them that in case the hands of the person who would handle those notes would be dipped in a solution of sodium carbonate the same would turn pink. Then practical demonstration was also given PW-7. Instructions were also given to them as to how the raid was going to be conducted and they were expected to do at the time of the raid in the office of the accused appellant. All these things were recorded in the pre-raid proceedings prepared by PW-7. Raiding party was then organized.

(3.) After reaching the MCD office in Rajouri Garden the complainant and the panch witness went ahead while the remaining officials of the raiding party took their positions at appropriate place for receiving the prearranged signal from the panch witness after acceptance of bribe money by the accused appellant. As per the further prosecution case the accused appellant did demand bribe money from the complainant at the time of raid which was paid to him and those two tainted notes were accepted by him with his left hand and kept in left pant pocket. After getting prearranged signal the members of the raiding party entered the room of the accused appellant and PW-7 challenged the accused appellant that he had accepted bribe of Rs. 40/- from the complainant who then became nervous. On being told by the complainant that the accused after accepting the bribe money in his left hand had kept the same in the left side of his pant pocket, the raiding officer offered to get himself searched which offer was declined by the accused appellant and then PW-7 recovered the tainted notes from the left side pocket of the pants of the accused appellant. Numbers of the recovered two phenolphathlein treated notes tallied with the ones already mentioned in the pre-raid proceedings. The left hand of the accused appellant was then dipped in the solution of sodium carbonate which turned pink. Pant of the accused appellant was got taken off and when its left pocket was dipped in another sodium carbonate solution the same also turned pink.