MANNI SINGH Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Manni Singh son of Sri Ganga Singh has filed this appeal against the judgment and order dated 29/5/1981 of Sri T.P. Gupta, Special Judge, Kanpur in S.T. No.6 of 1980 convicting the appellant under section 161, I.P.C. to one years R.I. and U/s. 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act to one years R.I. The learned Special Judge has directed that the two sentences shall run concurrently.

(2.) The prosecution case is that in May, 1978 suit No. 806 of 1975 Dwarika Prasad v. Nagar Mahapalika was pending in the court of Munsif, Kanpur. Sri Rayazuddin was the presiding Officer of the court till 16/3/1978 and thereafter on 11/5/1978 Sri. S.K. Nagqvi became the presiding Officer, According to the prosecution case the appellant was the reader of the court. It is alleged by the prosecution that several dates were fixed in the case but the Nagar Mahapalika did not file any written statement. Dwarika Prasad was anxious that the case may be decided exparte. The appellant was the reader of the court. Hence Dwarika Prasad approached the appellant who demanded Rs. 50/- to get the case decided exparte in his favour. On the next date that is on 20/5/1978 Dwarika Prasad moved an application Ext. Ka. 1 to the Superintendent of Police, Vigilance to the effect that the appellant was demanding Rs. SOlas bribe, Sri D.K. Pande, S.P. Vigilance, (P.W. 4) wrote out the statement of Dwarika Prasad on the back of the application Ext. Ka. 1. Sri Panda Passed an order Ext. Ka. 1. A in the name of Rajveer Singh Inspector. Vigilance to lay a trap and introduced Dwarika Prasad to Rajveer Singh. The date fixed in the suit was 20.5.1978 and Inspector Rajveer Singh alongwith the Inspector Bahadur Singh, constable Ram Autar and Dwarlka Prasad arrived in the court campus. There they took public witness. Naseem and Chandra Shekhar (Naseem has not been examined at the trial while Chandra Shekhar has not supported the prosecution Version). The trap party collected in front of Kaushik Garden. Dwarika Prasad gave five ten rupees currency notes to Inspector Rajveer Singh who made his initials on the currency notes and returned the same to Dwarika Prasad. The currency notes were also treated with phenolphthalein powder. The hands of Bhadur Singh Inspector were washed in sodium carbonate solution and the solution turned pink and the same was sealed and a memo was prepared. All these proceedings were completed at about 2.45 P.M.

(3.) The trap party proceeded towards the civil Court. Dwarika Prasad went to call the appellant for payment of bribe at a hotel near Bar Association. Swarika Prasad came back and told Inspector Rajveer Singh that court proceedings were going on and at that time Manni Singh could not came out and saying so Dwarika Prasad went back to the court and the trap party kept on waiting. At about 4.45, P.M. Swarika Prasad come and told that next date was 13/7/1978. He further gave out that the appellant had told him that due to rush of work his work could not be done but on the next date that is 13/7/1978 the work would be certainly done. The appellant, however, insisted that the bribe money may be paid at that very day. At about 5 P.M. Dwarika Prasad along with the appellant and one boy were seen coming out the court room and they proceeded towards Tripti Restaurant and entered the restaurant which is situated in civil lines, Kanpur. The trap party followed the appellant at some distance. The appellant and that boy seated themselves on the chairs near the northern wall facing towards south and Dwarika Prasad sat on a small sofa facing the appellant across the table. The trap party went in the restaurant and sat at home distance towards the west on a sofa. Constable Ram Autar Tripathi also went inside and sat on a sofa. The appellant on and the boy were busy in taking refreshments. After about half an hour dwarika prasad paid the bills of the refreshments and requested the appellant to get the case decided exparte in his favour and he gave the five ten rupee currency note to the appellant who took the money in his left hand and not in his bush shirt. The appellant assured that the work of the Dwarika Prasad was to be certainly done without loosing any time Inspector Rajveer Singh introduced himself to appellant and asked the appellant to give him the currency notes received from Dwarika Prasad. The appellant took out the notes and gave out to the Inspector Rajveer Singh. These were the same currency notes on which the initials of Inspector Rajveer Singh existed. On the personal search of the appellant a sum of Rs. 324/ - and a chit of paper regarding the domestic wiring and decoration and the cyclostyled tender form dated 29.4.1978 of cantonment Board, Kanpur along with a receipt in the name of the appellant of Rs. 1/- were found from his left pocket and from the right pocket of shirt two keys and a fountain pen and one dot pen were found and one old wrist watch was also found on the person of the appellant. The boy who accompanied the appellant was the son of the appellant. The left hand of the appellant was washed in the solution of the sodium carbonate and the solution turned pink. The solution was sealed in a bottle similarly the pocket of the appellant was dipped in the solution of sodium carbonate which turned pink. The said solution was also sealed on the spot. The recovery memo was prepared. All these formalities were completed by 6 P.M.