SUDHAKAR BHASKAR PORE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant Sudhakar Bhaskar Pore the Head Constable in the Police Department of the State of Maharashtra was charged and tried for and convicted for committing an offence under section 161 of the Indian Penal Code and under section 5 (1) (d) read with section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Upon conviction he was sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one year and a fine of Rs. 200/- in default further rigorous imprisonment for one year under section 161 of the Indian Penal Code. The same sentence was awarded to him also upon conviction under section 5 (1) (d) read with section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 but the sentence of imprisonment in default of payment of fine of Rs. 100/- was restricted to 15 days. The substantive sentences were directed to run concurrently.

(2.) AT the material time in September 1980 the Head Constable Sudhakar Pore was posted in the district of Raigad at the police out post at Kolad under the Police Station Roha. The staff attached to this out-post consisted of the accused head constable himself and two constables Sonawane and Patil all unarmed. No armed head constables were attached to the out-post however. Though it appears that those being the days of the Ganesh festival, the armed police constables had also been posted at Kolad for Bandobast duty. The distance between the police out post at Kolad and the police station at Roha is 15 kms. The complainant Chandrakant Dhavate, a young man about 20 years lives at Kolad along with his elder brother Dattaram aged about 40 years. Both of them conduct a grocery shop in the name and style `dattaguru Kirana Stores. Their residential house is separate from the shop but quite close to it. Their parents live at the Taluka place of Pali and appear to be quite old. They have a sister by name Lalita who is married and lives at village Talavali about three miles from Kolad. They have a maternal uncle by name Baliram Telange who also lives at Talavali and runs a kirana shop there.

(3.) ACCORDING to the prosecution, sometime before 30th August 1980 precisely on 19th July 1980 the kirana shop of Chandrakant and his brother Dattaram had been raided by PSI Mane of the Roha Police Station and an offence being C. R. No. 35 of 1980 had come to be registered against Dattaram since the shop stands in his name alone. On the 30th August 1980 Supply Inspector Kashinath Sathe also raided Dattarams Kirana shop and drew up a panchanama of a number of things and articles kept for sale in the shop and of which the price was not shown on the board as required to be displayed under the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act and the Orders passed thereunder. Supply Inspector Sathe directed that these things and articles kept in the shop for sale should not, in view of the seizure effected by him be disposed of but kept separate until further orders in the matter. The Supply Inspector Sathe then filed his own complaint at the Roha Police Station on 1st September 1980. Crime No. 36 of 1980 under section 7 of the Essential Commidities Act was thereupon registered against Dattaram. The investigation of this offence was made over to the accused head constable Sudhakar Pore. The concerned papers were sent to him at Kolad from the Roha Police Station on 7th September 1980 when police constable Sonawane attached to the out-post at Kolad had been to the Roha Police Station in connection with some official work. On returning to Kolad, police constable Sonawane delivered these papers connected with C. R. No. 36 of 1980 to the accused head constable.