JAGDISH SINGH Vs. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant-accused has challenged the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dtd. 22/10/2003 passed by learned Special Judge, CBI, Punjab, Patiala, in case R.C. No.21 of 14/9/2000 for offences under Ss. 7, 13(1)(d) punishable under Sec. 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as 'PC Act') lodged at P.S. CBI/ACB/Chandigarh, whereby the appellant had been convicted and sentenced as under:-

(2.) The facts germane to the case of the prosecution may be noticed as thus:

(3.) Learned counsel for the appellant asserts that the prosecution failed to establish the demand and acceptance of bribe beyond a reasonable doubt. The case of the prosecution relied heavily on the testimonies of two key witnesses PW-1 Gurdeep Singh (complainant) and PW-2 Rajesh Bagga (shadow witness). It is noteworthy that both of them were already well acquainted with each other for many years and had jointly approached the Vigilance Bureau to lodge the complaint against the appellant. The shadow witness admitted that they were known to each other for the past 3-4 years and the complainant too confirmed that they had met 4-5 times previously. This long standing relationship and acquaintance between the two suggested a potential pre-planned conspiracy to falsely implicate the appellant.