ASHOK KUMAR Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. S.K. Agarwal, Senior Advocate assisted by Mr. M.K. Singhal, Advocate for the appellant and Mr. Arvind Vashisth, Advocate for the Central Bureau of Investigation.

(2.) This appeal arises out of judgment and order dated 30.7.1999 passed by the Court of Special Judge, Anti Corruption, U.P. (East), Dehradun in C.B.I. Case No. 6 of 1992, whereby the present appellant has been convicted and sentenced under Section 7 and Section 13 (2) read with Section 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

(3.) The brief facts of the case, as per the prosecution, are that the complainant moved a written complaint before Superintendent of Police (C.B.I), Dehradun on 31.12.1991, which was later registered as an F.I.R. on direction of the Superintendent of Police (C.B.I.). In the said F.I.R. it was stated by the complainant that he is a member of Scheduled Caste community. He had moved an application for loan before the U.P. Scheduled Caste Finance & Development Corporation, Dehradun (from hereinafter referred to as the Corporation) for opening a grocery shop. When he later enquired about his loan from the office of the Corporation he was informed that all the formalities at their end had been completed and the papers were forwarded to Punjab National Bank at its Race Course Branch, Dehradun. Consequently when he went to the Bank he was told that the papers have reached the Bank and after the formalities are completed, he will get the loan. After this the complainant states that he completed all the formalities of the Bank and completed all the documentation work. After one month he met the manager of the Bank Sri A.K. Goel, who assured him that loan will be sanctioned. All the same, even after one month when the loan money was not received by him he met Sri Goel on 30.12.1991, along with stamp papers and quotations when he was told by Sri Goel that if you give me ' 500/- then only you will get your cheque of the loan amount. The complainant then states that he does not want to give bribe and requested the police to initiate proceedings on his complaint. The F.I.R. was consequently lodged on 31.12.1991 at about 1.30 PM at the C.B.I. Police Station at Dehradun, and a case was registered at Special Police Establishment Branch, Dehradun as R.C.-41 (A)/91/DAD against the accused under Section 7 of the Act, and Inspector Bhagwan Singh was deputed to investigate the matter. Soon after that, a team was constituted to lay a trap. Shri R.D. Joshi (P.W.2) and Shri Satish Gupta (P.W.3), who were employed in Pyrites Phosphates & Chemicals Limited, Dehradun (from hereinafter referred to as P.P.C.L), were procured as witnesses and were made members of the trap team. A pre-trap demonstration was conducted at the C.B.I. office, Dehradun in presence of all the members of the team in which the manner of trapping, the use of phenolphthalein as well as other methods to be employed for trapping were made known to all the members, and subsequently instructions were also given to the officers. On the same day i.e. 31.12.1991 at about 3:30 P.M., the members of the trap team reached the neighbourhood of the concerned Bank namely Punjab National Bank, Race Course Branch, Dehradun. On the same date at about 4.30 PM accused/appellant Shri A.K. Goel was caught red handed in the premises of Punjab National Bank, Race Course Branch, Dehradun, while demanding and consequently accepting a sum of ' 500/- as an illegal gratification from the complainant for disbursing and sanctioning the loan of ' 10,000/- in his favour. The tainted currency note of ' 500/- delivered by the complainant to the accused/appellant were also recovered in the proceeding from the left pocket of the accused's trousers. The required formalities were completed by the trap team and the documents were also seized by the team from the bank which were formed as exhibits and placed before the Court. The accused/appellant was arrested. The remaining investigation was conducted by another inspector, namely, H.M. Javed Khan under orders of the Superintendent of Police, C.B.I. Branch, Dehradun.