S N PRASAD Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been directed aginst the judgment and order of conviction and sentence dated 18.10.1993 passed by the Special Judge, CBI, Ranchi, in RC Case No. 6(A)/91/R whereby and whereunder he convicted the appellant, namely, S.N. Prasad under Section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years.

(2.) The case of the prosecution, in short, is that the complainant A.K. Mishra, Vigilance Inspector, B.S. City, was conducting an inquiry against the appellant, who was working as Operative GR II in Sintering Plant of B.S. City in respect of certain complaint made against him. On 6.3.1991, the appellant went to the residence of the complainant and requested him to hush up the matter and offered him a bribe of Rs. 500/- for that purpose. The complainant declined to accept the amount and asked him to see him at his residence on the next day at 9.30 a.m. Thereafter, the complainant reiterated the matter to Sri A.K. Babaria, Additional Chief Vigilance Officer, B.S. City, requesting him to refer the matter to the CBI to make inquiry into the matter. Sri Babaria contacted Sri Shravan Kumar, who was in-charge S.P. on telephone and requested him to constitute a raiding party and, accordingly, Shri Shrawan Kumar, in-charge S.P. deputed Sri B.N. Sharma, Inspector, CBI, Ranchi to constitute a raiding party which was constituted and the raiding party proceeded for B.S. City on the same day. Sri B.N. Sharma informed Sri Babaria after reaching to Dokaro and on the following day, i.e., 7.3.1991 the raiding party headed by Sri B.N. Sharma went to the residence of Sri Babaria at 7.00 a.m. where the complainant Was present. Sri Sharma went through the complaint of Sri A.K. Mishra, who was examined by him and on being satisfied about the genuineness of the complaint, the raiding party along with the two independent witnesses, namely, Sri R.S. Rawat and Sri Dhiranjan Singh went along with Sri A.K. Mishra to his quarter and as per the plan the raiding party took their position in the dining hall behind curtain connecting the dining hall and the drawing room. It is alleged that at about 9.45 a.m., the appellant arrived at the residence of A.K. Mishra (PW 1) and he was made to sit on the sofa. Sri A.K. Mishra sat on another sofa closed to the door connected with the drawing room and the dining space. It is further alleged that the appellant took out same currency not from his front pocket of the shirt and offered the same to Sri Mishra saying that "HAM CHAR SAO PACHAS RUPYA LAYE HAI ISE ABHI LE LIYA JAI MERA CASE KHATAM KAR DIYA JAYEGA TO MAIN AUR KUCHH PAISA DUNGA."

(3.) The defence of the appellant before the trial Court was that he is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the case at the instance of Sri Mishra and it was denied that the appellant had offered any money to Sri Mishra or had requested him to hush up the matter by accepting the bribe of Rs. 500/ In other words, the defence has emphatically denied the charge levelled against him.