V SUBRAMANIAM Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal is preferred by the appellant/accused challenging his conviction and sentence passed by the learned First Additional District Judge-cum-Chief Judicial Magistrate, Salem in Special CC No.226 of 1989 by judgment dated 15.3.1999 convicting him for the offence under Sections 7, 13(1)(d) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) read with Section 218 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as the Code) and sentencing him to undergo one year rigorous imprisonment for each count and to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/- in each count, in default, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three months for each count.

(2.) THE accused in this case, who was a Village Administrative Officer, faced the trial on the charge that on 4.1.1989 at about 11 a.m., he had demanded a sum of Rs.200/- at his office in Vellalapatti from one Annamalai (PW1) as a gratification for the purpose of issuing two certificates for transporting jaggery from his field to Salem market and thereafter accepted the said amount on 5.1.1989 at about 1.30 p.m., at his office in Vallalapatti as a gratification abusing his official position. He prepared a false receipt No.407408 to show that a sum of Rs.200/- was received from the said Annamalai (PW1) towards arrears of stamp duty payable by one Ettiya Gounder (PW11) with an intention to save himself from legal punishment by a Court of law for acceptance of gratification and thereby he committed an offence punishable under Section 7 of the Act read with Section 218 of the IPC.

(3.) MR. M.Sathyanarayanan, learned counsel for the appellant took me through the entire evidence available on record meticulously and made the following submissions: