V SEBASTIAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant is a doctor by profession. He was in the Health Service of Kerala State. He worked as Municipal Health Officer for a certain period, on deputation. While so, he has been indicted for offence under S.161 of the Indian Penal Code and S.5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (for short 'the Act'). The Special Judge convicted him and sentenced him to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of three moths and to pay a fine of Rs.100/- under each of the counts.

(2.) The case against him, in short, is that he demanded and received illegal gratification in a sum of Rs. 10/- from P.W.1 for issuing a "life Certificate" in favour of the mother of PW 1. Being the widow of a railway employee, the said mother was entitled to family pension. The application for family pension must be supported by a life certificate. (The purpose of the certificate is to assure that the applicant concerned is a living person).

(3.) On 14-7-1980, PW 1 and his mother (PW 6) approached the appellant and requested him to issue the certificate. Appellant had issued a similar certificate to PW 6 during the previous year. As appellant did not remember it, he insisted on some other responsible person identifying the appellant. Therefore PW 7 Municipal Councillor identified her to the appellant. After preparing the required certificate appellant demanded Rs. 10/-. But P.W. 1 did not have the money with him, nor was he willing to pay bribe money for that favour. He consulted PW 3, a Lecturer in S. N. College, Quilon. They together went to Vigilance Police and gave a complaint to the Dy S.P. (Vigilance). A trap was arranged by the Vigilance police. Later PW 1 went to the Municipal Office and met the appellant, who then asked him whether the amount has been brought. The previously arranged currency note was passed over to the appellant who took it and kept it in the drawer of his office table. Ext. P2 certificate was then delivered to PW 1. At that stage the signal was shown and members of the vigilance squad came in. They recovered the currency note from the appellant.