PRADEEP KUMAR Vs. STATE OF UTTARANCHAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a Criminal Appeal against the judgment and order dated 5 -5 -1983 passed by the II Additional Sessions Judge, Nainital in S.T. No. 2 of 1982 State v. Pradeep Kumar by which the learned Additional Sessions Judge convicted and sentenced the Appellant under Section 161 I.P.C. and Sections 5(1)(d) read with Election 5(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years under Section 161 I.P.C. and to under go rigorous imprisonment for a period of five years and to pay a fine of Rs. 3000/ - under Section 5(1)(d) read with Section 5(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. In case of default in payment of fine the Appellant was ordered to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a further period of one year. Both the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) THE prosecution case, in brief, is that the complainant Agaz Mohd. Khan PW1 was a contractor in the Civil Construction Bareilly Sub Division, Behgul Dam. He had taken a contract of plain cutting on the said Dam. In this contract he was required to put 12000 cubic metre of earth but on the instructions of the Appellant who was a Junior Engineer in the Civil Construction Bareilly Sub Division he put 14,000 cubic metre of earth. He was paid the amount of two running bills for Rs. 86,000/ - and only the final bill remained to be prepared by the Appellant. When the complainant met the accused for the preparation of his final bill, the latter demanded an illegal gratification of Rs. 18,000/ -. He demanded that Rs. 3000/ - be paid to him in advance and the remaining amount of Rs. 15,000/ - be paid to him after the final bill was paid to the complainant. The complainant assured to pay him Rs. 3000/ - as illegal gratification on 12 -7 -1980 and made a written report of this fact to the Superintendent of Police Vigilance Department, Bareilly, on 11 -7 -1980. In this report the complainant had mentioned the number of the currency notes, which he was to handover to the Appellant on 12 -7 -1980 as illegal gratification. This report was then forwarded to the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Vigilance G.L. Verma (PW4) with the directions that he would lead a trap with his party. Dy. S.P. Sri Verma then discussed the matter with the complainant Agaz Mohd. Khan and instructed him to meet him on 12 -7 -1980 near the Mandi Sammitti, Sitarganj, at 2.30 P.M. On 12 -7 -1980, he accompanied by Vigilance Inspector Kartar Singh, Gaya Lal and Dayal Tewari, went on the staff car to Mandi Sammitti, Sitarganj. There he instructed the Inspector to procure public witnesses, namely Ashraf Hussain, Bandu and Rajjan Shah. Meanwhile, the complainant also reached that place. Sh. Verma then compared the numbers of the currency notes with the numbers mentioned in the complaint of Agaz Mohd Khan dated 7 -8 -1980. Agaz Mohd. Khan informed him that these notes were to be handed over as illegal gratification to the Appellant the same day at 4 P.M. in Anpurna Restaurant, Sitarganj. Sh. Verma then smeared phenolphthalein powder on these currency notes and returned them to the complainant. Thereafter, he took a glass of water and added sodium carbonate powder in it. He took a sample of this mixture in a separate phial (Ex.1) and sealed it. In the remaining mixture he got the hand of the complainant washed with the result that the colour of this mixture became pink. A part of this pink mixture was sealed in a separate phial marked Ex. II. Thereafter he explained the process to the witnesses and prepared a memo (Ex.Ka.2) of these proceedings.

(3.) THE Investigation was conducted by Sh. Shiv Dan Singh, Dy. S.P. Vigilance Department Bareilly, (PW7). He inspected the place of occurrence and prepared its site plan marked Ex. Ka. 6. He obtained the sanction order (Ex. Ka. 8) from the Chief Engineer, Irrigation Department, U.P. for the prosecution of the Appellant. After completing the investigation he submitted the Charge sheet (Ex.Ka.7).