AMAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal has been filed by Shri Amar Singh, patwari who has since been convicted under Section 161 IPC read with Section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sentenced to one year's imprisonment on each of both the counts and also sentenced to pay a fine of Rs. 500/- on each count. Both these sentences of imprisonment are ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) THE appellant was a patwari of Halqua (Circle) Kamlab in Tehsil Hamirpur and Shri Madan Lal (PW 4) a resident of village Pakhorl had gone on the 15th of January, 1974 to obtain a copy of their village-common-land in respect of some land which however, is not mentioned in the complaint. According to the complainant, the appellant did not give him the copy and demanded Rs. 15/- as illegal gratification. However, he promised to pay him the same after a few days. The complainant made a report Ex. PJ to the Deputy Commissioner on 17-1-1974 in this behalf and the District Magistrate passed an order Ex. PJ/1 on 17-1-1974 to the following effect: G. A. and Dy. S. P. should lay a trap. " Thereafter, it appears that a trap was laid as planned and two currency notes one of the denomination of Rs. 10/- and the other of denomination of Rs. 5/- were duly initialled by Shri I. C. Malhotra, (PW 3) who also joined the raid. Later on when the notes were alleged to have been passed over, the patwari left the patwarkhana. A signal had been given by Madan Lal about the money having been passed over, to Shri I. C. Malhotra, Hardyal Singh and others who were lying in an ambush. They shouted out to the accused appellant who was on the higher side of the ridge to stop and not to proceed further. PW 3 and PW 6 were on the lower side of the ridge and according to them the appellant took out some papers from his pocket and he placed them hastily in a Thela or a bag which according to PW 6, was being carried by the appellant under his arm-pit and was placed on a rock by him on the path where he was asked to stop. When the police and the other members of the raiding party reached the spot, it is stated that the person of the accused was searched and Rs. 15/- were recovered from his pocket but they were not the currency notes which bore the initials of PW

(3.) THE police and other members of the raiding party picked up the Thela lying nearby and from the fold of that Thela, money fell down on the ground and it was found that the money in all was Rs. 75/-, which also included two currency notes one of Rs. 10/- and the other one of Rs. 5/- bearing the initials of Shri I. C. Malhotra PW 3 and therefore, according to the police they had recovered money which had been passed on and accepted by the appellant as illegal gratification from Shri Madan Lal PW 4. A memo was accordingly prepared and later on the accused was challaned and a charge-sheet was framed by the learned Special Judge but it was reported that the case property that is, the two currency notes alleged to have been passed over as illegal gratification, as demanded by the appellant were missing from the police Malkhana. Efforts were made to find out the same but the same could not be found and, therefore, the trial commenced. The learned Special Judge on the conclusion of the trial, found the accused guilty of the charges and as a result thereof, he convicted and sentenced the accused as already stated above. 3. The learned Counsel for the appellant has argued amongst other points, one of the points that the sanction obtained in this case is invalid and as such the trial was without jurisdiction. In view of this, I need not refer to the other points if it is found that the sanction is invalid as that point goes to the very root of the case.