NIRMAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) APPELLANT has appealed against the judgment, dated 30th July, 2005, of learned Special Judge, Hamirpur, whereby he has been convicted of offence, under Section 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act, and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years and to pay a fine of Rs.1000/ -; in default of payment of fine, to undergo simple imprisonment for a further period of one month.

(2.) CASE of the prosecution may be summed up thus. Appellant was posted as Additional SHO in Police Station, Sadar Hamirpur, in December, 2003, when an application Ext. PW4/A, by one Sunil Kumar, who was in judicial lock up those days, addressed to the Superintendent of Police, was received at the said Police Station. In the application, it was alleged that PW -5 Soni Kumar had not been returning Sunil Kumar 's Maruti Car, bearing registration No. DBJ -15 and was demanding Rs. 35,000/ - from his aunt Madhuwala (father 's brother 's wife). Before lodging of this complaint by Sunil Kumar, PW -2 Madhuwala, the said aunt of Sunil Kumar, had visited PW -5 Soni Kumar for the return of the aforesaid car, but Soni Kumar demanded money, alleging that his own car, bearing registration No. HP -30 -0370, had been impounded by the police, when Sunil Kumar was using the same after borrowing it from him and he had to spend Rs. 5000/ -, to get his car released from the police.

(3.) PW -2 Madhuwala then apprised PW -3 Nand Lal, a Journalist, about the alleged illegal demand for bribe made by the appellant. PW -3 Nand Lal took her to the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Anti -Corruption, namely C.L. Kaushik (PW -14). Report made by PW -2 Madhuwala was entered in the FIR register. A copy of that FIR (Ext.PW2/A) was placed in an envelop and that envelop was sealed and delivered to Special Judge on that very day. The date was 10.12.2003. Deputy Superintendent of Police requested the Special Judge, to whom the sealed envelop was delivered, not to open the same till a request was made to him for the purpose. PW -2 Madhuwala and PW -3 Nand Lal were directed by the Dy. S.P. to see him next morning at 6 a.m. The two then went to Dy. S.P. on the next following day at the given time. D.C. Hamirpur was approached by PW -14 Shri C.L. Kaushik to make the services of an Executive Magistrate available to witness the search and raid. D.C. Hamirpur deputed PW -13 Prabhat Sharma. Deputy Superintendent of Police and Executive Magistrate then went to the residence of PW -12 Inspector Mast Ram. There PW -2 Madhuwala was required to produce currency notes of 2000/ -. She produced four currency notes of the denomination of 500/ -each, which were treated with phenolphthalein powder and returned to PW -2 Madhuwala, with the instructions to hand over the same to the appellant, on demand. It was demonstrated to PW -2 Madhuwala and PW -3 Nand Lal how solutions of phenolphthalein powder and sodium carbonate, when mixed, turned pink. PW -2 Madhuwala was told to give a signal to the police people, who were to wait outside the premises of the appellant, after the acceptance of money by appellant.