BHAJAHARI MANDAL Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal from the order of Sri A. B. Ganguly, Judge, Special Court, Burdwan, convicting the appellant, Bhajahari Mandal, under Section 165-A, Penal Code, and sentencing him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for six months. The prosecution case was briefly as follows:

(2.) Two men, Istipada Ghosh and Gopiraman Ghosh, were being tried before an Assistant Sessions Judge, Sri D. N. Chakravarty, at Burdwan for offences under Sections 304/324, Penal Code. The trial commenced on 2-9-1952 and Baidyanath Mukherjee was one of the jurors. Dharanidhar Misra was the- foreman and Gangadhar Dawn was another juror in the same case. The appellant Bhajahari Mandal was a tadbirkar for the accused before the Assistant Sessions Judge, namely, Istipada Ghosh and Gopiraman Ghosh. The appellant Bhajahari approached the juror Baidyanath from the 2nd day of the trial for showing favour to the accused by returning a verdict of not guilty, on taking a bribe or illegal gratification from him on behalf of the accused. Baidyanath refused to take any bribe in order to give a verdict favourable to the accused of that case and he reported the matter to the foreman, Dharanidhar Misra, who said that the appellant had also approached him, requesting him to take a bribe and to give a verdict in favour of the the accused but he had also refused. The evidence shows that the appellant had also approached another juror Gangadhar Dawn with a similar proposal and Gangadhar had also turned down the offer of a bribe. On the fourth day of the trial, that is, on 5-9-52, Baidyanath consulted Dharanidhar Misra and Gangadhar Dawn and they came to the decision that they would report the matter & get the man who was offering bribe to them apprehended & brought to justice. Baidyanath also went to Sri Durgapada Choudhury, the Public Prosecutor of Burdwan and reported the matter to him on 5/9/52 in the evening and Durgapada Babu told Baidyanath that if he could get apprehended the man who had offer-ed the bribe at the proper time, he would be doing a service to the cause of justice. He also advised Baidyanath to bring the matter to the notice of the police. The appellant Bhajahari happened to meet Baidyanath in the evening of the same day after Baidyanath had seen the Public Prosecutor Sri Durgapada Choudhury. At that time, Baidyanath pretended to agree to accept bribe and asked him to come with money next morning between 9-30 and 10 a.m., that is, before the sitting of the Court, at the house of Dibakar Banerji, clerk of a lawyer, Mahadev Roy. The juror Baidyanath was then staying at the house of Dibakar. Next morning, at about 9 or 9-30 a.m. Baidyanath with his brother Sashi Bhusan Mukherji went to the police station and informed the Ofiicer-in-charge that Bhajahari had been offering bribe to Baidyanath on several occasions to induce him to return a verdict favourable to the secured. The Officer-in-charge then sent junior Sub-Inspector, Sisir Bindu Bhowmik, to the house of Dibakar for arresting the man who offered the bribe if he could be caught red-handed. From the Police Station Baidyanath Mukherji & Sashi Bhusan Mukherji went straight to the house of Dibakar. After a while, the appellant Bhajahari Mandal came there with money and tendered four ten rupee notes, to Baidyarath who accepted them. At the same moment, the junior Sub-Inspector, Sisir Bindu Bhowmik, came up and saw the money being tendered and accepted; and to him Baidyanath reported then and there that Bhajahari had given the bribe. Thereupon, Sisir Bindu Bhowmik arrested Bhajahari and took him to the thana and Baidyanath was taken to the thana where he lodged information which was treated as the first information report. On the same day, the matter was reported to the Assistant Sessions Judge who was trying the case against Istipada Ghosh and Gopi-raman Ghosh, and heaving everything the learned Judge discharged the jury and ordered retrial of Istipada and Gopiraman.

(3.) It has been said already that Bhajahari was arrested, and taken to the thana. The Officer in-Charge investigated the case and submitted a charge sheet under Section 161/116, Penal Code, in due course. The case was transferred to the Judge of the Special Court, Burdwan who took cognisance of the case on 23-12-52 and ultimately tried and convicted and sentenced the appellant as already stated.