VIMAL KISHORE Vs. D D GAUTAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Revision Petition under Sections 397, 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, read with Section 27 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, is directed against the judgment dated 6-12-1997 passed by the learned Special Judge, Solan whereby the accused-respondent No. 1 (hereinafter referred to as the accused) has been acquitted of the charge under Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

(2.) Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that Vimal Kishore (PW-12) was a registered class-D Contractor with the Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department, Division Solan, since 1990. He was awarded work order 31-3-94 for Rs. 5000/- for supplying grit to HPPWD, Sub-Division, Kasauli pursuant to which he supplied 19 cubic meter grit and also supplied additional grit to the said Sub-Division. However, payments were not made to him. He met the accused who has then posted as Executive Engineer at Kasauli for releasing the payment but the accused demanded a sum of Rs. 1000/- as illegal gratification for clearing the payments. The demand for Rs. 1000/- was repeated by the accused when the complainant again met him on 25-5-1995. The complainant who did not want to pay any illegal gratification lodged the F.I.R. Ex. PG against the accused. Thereafter PW-15 Jai Ram the then D.S.P. (Vigilance) at Solan who had recorded the FIR Ext. PG on 26-5-1995 constituted a raiding party consisting of Vimal Kishore (PW-12), Ram Kishore (PW-13), Sashi Bhushan, Lalit Sharma (PW-14) and S. I. Kashmiru Ram and Constable Tak Chand and Balbir Singh. The party so constituted went to Wireless Station at Kasauli. There PW-12 Vimal Kishore produced 10 currency notes of the denomination of Rs. 100/- each. The numbers of the currency notes were noted and thereafter said notes were treated with phenolphthalein powder and demonstration was given. After taking the personal search of PW Vimal Kishore the treated currency notes were inserted in his pocket, and he was directed to handover the currency notes to the accused on his demand for passing his outstanding bills and not to shake hand with the accused. PW-13 Ram Kishore was sent as a Shadow witness to listen the conversation between Vimal Kishore and the accused and to signal the raiding party after the receipt of gratification by the accused by placing his right hand on his head. The decoy witness Vimal Kishore and shadow witness Ram Kishore proceeded to the office room of the accused at 3 p.m. and the remaining members of the raiding party positioned themselves in separate places outside the office of the accused. On receipt of signal from the shadow witness at 5.15 p.m., PW-15 Jai Ram along with other members of the raiding party rushed to the office room of the accused. The accused was apprehended from his arms. PW-15 Jai Ram disclosed his identity as D.S.P. Thereafter, hands of the accused were got washed in the solution of sodium carbonate, the hand wash turned light pink. The solution was sealed in a nip. Currency notes worth Rs. 1000/- were recovered from the pocket of the shirt of the accused. The shirt of the accused was also washed with the solution of sodium carbonate and the wash turned light pink. This wash was also preserved in a bottle and was sealed. The numbers of the currency notes as recovered from the pocket of the shirt of the accused tallied with the numbers of the currency notes as mentioned in the memo prepared earlier. The hand wash and the pocket wash aforesaid were sent to State Forensic Science Laboratory, Shimla. As per the report Ex. PD received from the State Forensic Science Laboratory the shirt wash and hand wash were found to contain phenolphthalein and sodium carbonate. During the course of investigation it was further found that the grit supplied by the complainant (PW-12) was measured by Junior Engineer Ashok Kumar on 7-11-1994. A bill dated 24-12-1994 for Rs. 4,968/- was thereafter prepared against work order No. 31/93-94. Vide bill dated 30-1-1995 the complainant was found to have supplied grit worth Rs. 9823/-. It was also found that the predecessor-in-office of the accused had awarded another order dated 21-5-1994 to the accused for supply of grit worth Rs. 1,20,938/- out of which grit worth Rs. 12,504/- was supplied by the complainant vide bill dated 24-11-1994. All the aforesaid three bills were presented to the accused for releasing the payment but he did not pass the bills with the intention to secure gratification of Rs. 1000/- from the

(3.) On completion of the investigation and on being satisfied of the commission of offence the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Anti-corruption Zone, Solan, submitted a charge-sheet against the accused under Sections 7 and 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.