SHAIK ABDUL SALAM Vs. STATE OF A P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Assailing the judgment dated 31-1-2000 passed in CC No. 12 of 1996 by the learned Special Judge for SPE and ACB Cases, City Civil Court, Hyderabad, convicting the appellant herein for the offence under Sections 7 and 13(1)(d) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and sentencing the appellant to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year each for the offence under Section 7 and Section 13(1)(d) read with Section 13(2) of the Act and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/- under each count, the sole accused preferred this criminal appeal.

(2.) The case of the prosecution in nutshell is that the appellant, who worked as Sub-Inspector of Police, Krishnagiri Police Station, Kurnool District (hereinafter referred as the Accused Officer) on 17-9-1995 along with his staff surprised the house of PW-1 at Amakathadu Village and banned his son Pedda Shall Saheb, on the pretext that he has been selling jaggery to the persons manufacturing illicit distillers, took him to Police Station in a tractor and confined him in the Police Station, without registering any crime. On the next day, PW-1 met the Accused Officer at the Police Station and requested to release his innocent son, on which the accused officer is said to have demanded Rs.2,000/- as illegal gratification for the release. The PW-1 was reluctant to pay the bribe and as such on the same day approached the DSP/ACB and lodged complaint and a case in Cr.No.5/ACB-KUR/95 came to be registered for the offence under Sections 7 and 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (for brevity the Act) and a trap was organized and PW-3 Dr. P. V. Ramana Murthy and another acted as mediators. As planned, on 19-9-1995 at about 4.35 p.m. PW-1 approached the accused officer at his residence in Reddyveddi of Veldurthy Town, Kurnool. The accused Officer in pursuance of his earlier demand, accepted illegal gratification of Rs.2,000/- from PW-1, which were tainted currency notes and kept in his right side uniform shirt pocket, which was recovered at his instance from the shirt pocket of his son. The test for the presence of phenolphthalein particles on the both the hands of the accused officers proved positives. The tainted amount of Rs.2,000/- was seized by the DSP and PW-2 was found detained illegally in Krishnagiri P.S. on 19-9-1995 at 8.45 p.m. After obtaining sanction from the Government vide G.O. Ms. No.251 Home (SC.A) Department dated 24-6-1996 to prosecute the Accused Officer, the appellant herein was charge-sheeted.

(3.) The appellant was charged for the offence under Sections 7 and 13(l)(d) read with Section 13(2) of the Acts, to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed to tried.