PREM CHAND Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants are aggrieved by the impugned judgment and order of sentence dated 17.12.2005 and 19.12.2005 wherein they had been convicted under Section 7 and 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as the said Act) read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as the IPC) and had been sentenced to undergo RI for a period of 1 year and to a fine of Rs.1000/ - in default of payment of fine to undergo SI for one months for the offence under Section 13(1)(d) of the said Act; for the offence under Section 7 of the Said Act read with Section 34 of the IPC they had been sentenced to undergo RI for six months and to a fine of Rs.5000/ - in default of payment of fine to undergo SI for 15 days. Both the sentences were to run concurrently. Benefit of Section 428 Cr.P.C. was accorded to the appellant.

(2.) VERSION of the prosecution is that all the aforenoted accused persons were beat constables posted at police station Badarpur. Mohd. Sattar (PW -3) was the complainant; he was selling bags from a rehri in front of police station Badarpur since the last three months; all rehris and squatters had been removed by police officials but thereafter they had re -encroached upon this land. PW -3 had also started squatting by putting his rehri there. Accused person asked him to remove his rehri; he stated that since other persons were allowed to place their reharis he should not be discriminated and should also be permitted to place his rehri at the said place. The accused persons told him that he will have to pay Rs.300/ - per month besides another sum of Rs.20/ - on every Sunday for the aforesaid privilege. Since PW -3 was poor and had been unemployed for sometime he told them that because of financial stringency he would not be able to honour this demand. He was threatened and abused by them. On 26.9.1998 the aforenoted accused persons again told him to remove his rehri or in the alternate to pay them the bribe money. Since PW -3 could not pay up this amount he was threatened by accused Pramod and Mhod. Taufiq. On 27.9.1998 a demand was made by Mohd. Taufiq and Pramod for money but since PW -3 could not fulfill the demand he prayed for time up to 28.8.1998; he was threatened that if the money was not paid up he would be implicated in a false case.

(3.) RATI Ram (PW -1) and constable Mahinder Singh (PW -2 ), the then MHCM were witnesses to the link evidence i.e. the deposit of the exhibits which had been taken at the time of the raid i.e. the right hand wash and right pant pocket wash of Prem Chand. PW -2 had deposited these exhibits in the Malkhana and they were sent through inspector Kamal Sapra (PW -13) to the CFSL Chandigarh. The CFSL vide its report Ex.PW -12/D had opined these exhibits as positive for phenolphthalein and sodium carbonate.