STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. CHANDRAKANT JAGANNATH MAHAJAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The State is in appeal against the judgment and order dtd. 5/8/2004, passed by the Special Judge, Jalgaon in Special Case No.15 of 2002, wherein the respondent herein came to be acquitted of the offences punishable under Ss. 7, 13(1)(d) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. (for short, 'P.C. Act').

(2.) The prosecution case in short is that PW2 Ashalata (complainant), was serving as Auxiliary Nurse Midwife with Primary Health Centre (PHC) Mhasawad and Sub Sec. at Bornar. She has a mentally challenged daughter. The complainant therefore wanted to be transferred to Nashirabad PHC. She had, therefore, preferred application for request transfer. The respondent herein was serving as a Junior Clerk with the Establishment Department of Zilla Parishad, Jalgaon. The complainant was an employee of Zilla Parishad, Jalgaon. The Health Centre with which she was serving, was under Zilla Parishad, Jalgaon. The complainant had met the respondent many a time in connection with her request transfer since the transfer application was to be routed through him. The respondent, on 4/7/2002, told the complainant that she would not be transferred on the same ground as she had earlier been transferred on her similar request. The complainant requested him not to put a spoke in her request for transfer. The respondent, thereupon, asked her to pay him Rs.12,000.00 as a condition to put up her transfer proposal for favorable consideration. On negotiation, the complainant agreed to pay him Rs.7,000.00. A sum of Rs.5,000.00 was to be paid as advance and the remaining amount on her transfer to a desired place. Since the complainant was not willing to pay the respondent bribe, she immediately approached Anti Corruption Bureay (ACB), Jalgaon on 8/7/2002. Shri Ashok Patil, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy. S.P.), ACB, Jalgaon (PW5), recorded the statement-cum-complaint (Exh.14) lodged by the complainant. He decided to lay a trap on the following day. He, therefore, asked the complainant to come to the ACB next morning. The complainant, accordingly, went there. PW5 Ashok had already secured presence of two female Government employees to act as panch witnesses. A pre-trap panchanama (Exh.19) was drawn.

(3.) All the concerned were given requisite instructions. Accordingly, the complainant accompanied by PW3 Rajeshri, went to the Zilla Parishad office to pay the respondent bribe. They met the respondent there. The complainant inquired with the respondent whether her proposal for transfer was kept before the District Health Officer (DHO). He, in turn, asked him not to be worried of it. He asked her if she has brought the money as had been asked to bring earlier. The complainant replied to have brought the money. The respondent, instead of receiving the bribe then and there, asked the complainant that they shall go elsewhere. After having walked a few steps, the respondent opened the drawer of one table and asked the complainant to drop bribe money therein. The complainant followed his instructions. She immediately came out of the office to give the pre-determined signal. The trap team immediately arrived. PW4 Usha (panch), took out the bribe money from the drawer. Trap panchanama (Exh.20) was drawn there. Thereafter, post-trap panchanama was drawn. PW5 Ashok, Dy.S.P. lodged the First Information Report (FIR). On completion of the investigation, all the papers thereof were forwarded to the then Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Zilla Parishad, Jalgaon for obtaining his sanction for prosecution of the respondent. The charge-sheet, therefore, came to be filed against the respondent herein.