STATE Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The State has come on appeal against the order of acquittal of the respondent for offences under Sections 7 and 13(2) nw 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act recorded by the Special Additional District Judge-cum-Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chengalpet in Special Case No. 5/93.

(2.) The respondent was tried on a charge that on 21. 7 .1992 at about 7.45 p.m., he received a sum of Rs. 35,000/ towards bribe from P.W. 2 for registering five sale deeds without collecting further stamp duty. The learned trial Judge ofter looking into the evidence of P.Ws. 1 to 12 and considering Exs. P.1 to P. 29 and Exs. Dl to D5 and also M.Os. 1 to 5 chose to acquit the accused. Hence, this appeal.

(3.) P.W. 5, Mr. M.K.S. Syed Ahmed Kabir is a resident of 14th Avenue, Harrington Road, Chehnai. P.W.2 is his Manager. P.W.5 wanted to purchase 5 items of property situated in Survey No. 63/3 and 63/1 in Paiyanur Village, Chengalpet Taluk. P.W.4, Mr. .G. Nagaraja lyeIT was the executants. Exs P.2 to P.6 sale deeds were executed by P.W.4 and P.W.5 entrusted the job of registration to his Manager P.W.2. P.W.2 approached the respondent for registration of the documents and at the time of registration of documents, the respondent found that the documents were deficiently stamped and therefore, he demanded deficit stamp duty. He also wanted an Income Tax Clearance Certificate, since the sale amount exceeded Rs. 2 lakhs. Even though at a later point of time, the Income Tax Clearance Certificate was handed over to the respondent, he had not cleared the registration, but kept it pending for want of FormIS. At this point of time, P.W. 2 approached the respondent who demanded Rs. 50,000 initially. R.W.5 was consulted and he did not agree to pay the amount and the amount was reduced to Rs. 35,000. On the advice of P.W. 5, P.W. 2 went and informed Deputy Superintendent of Police, Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption Department and thereafter, P.W. 11, the inspector of Police, summoned P.W. 3, the official witness and in their presence Phenolphthalein Powder was applied on the currency notes to conduct test and thereafter P.W.2 was asked to go and hand over the money to the respondent.