RAMPRASAD Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal by the accused Ramprasad who has been convicted of an offence under sec. 161 I P. C. and sentenced to a fine of Rs. 1000/- by the Sessions Judge, Ganganagar.

(2.) THE case for the prosecution is as follows. THE accused Ramprasad was a Naib Tehsildar at Lalgarh, District, Ganganagar, and had his headquarters at Ganganagar. THE complainant Kapoor Singh applied to purchased some land near his house but, as he put it, he was unable to get it, as he was not willing to bribe this Naib Tehsildar as also his predecessors before whom the matter was pending. THE accused went to Lalgarh on 15. 12. 52, and sent for Kapoor Singh and told him that he should pay a sum of Rs. 200/-and five maunds of wheat to the accused otherwise the land would be put to auction and the complainant may not by able to get it for even a sum of Rs. 1,000/ -. Kapoor Singh expressed his inability to pay at that and eventually the deal was settled for Rs. 200/-only, and he offered to give that sum to the accused at Ganganagar on the third day, that is, the 17th December, 1955 THE accused left Lalgarh. Kapoor Singh released this story to one Bahadur who was Secretary of the Tehsil Congress Committee, Ganganagar. Both arranged that they would go to Ganganagar together and so they did on the 17th December, 1952. Bahadur wrote an application, Ex. P. 1. , dated 17. 12. 52 to the Zila, Congress Committee, Ganganagar, on behalf of Kapoor Singh, in which he complained that the accused was askin for a bribe as a condition for the acceptance of Kapoor Singh's application, and although he abhorred bribery he was willing to offer a bribe of Rs 200/-to the accused if the money so given were to be arranged to recovered from him through the police, and in the presence of some officer, so that the accused be punished and a lesson administered to such bribe-takers. This application was delivered to Gyaniram who was Secretary of the Zila Congress Committee, Ganganagar, and he forwarded it to Ranjeet Singh who happened to be the Secretary of the City Congress Committee, Ganganagar, with the remark that there was a general complaint against the accused and that it was necessary in the public interest that adequate action be taken against him. This having been done, the complainant went to the house of the accused. On his being asked whether he had brought the money, he told the accused that he would presently give the latter a sum of Rs. 200/- at Ganganagar but send the wheat from Lalgarh latter. THE accused said that he would be at his house for another two hours. Kapoor Singh then went to the shop of Surajmal Banshidhar, and took a loan of Rs. 200/- in ten-rupee notes. It is said that Kapoor Singh again met Bahadur on the way and then they both went to Kachehri where they met Ranjeet Singh. THE latter wrote an application on behalf of Kapoor Singh to the District Magistrate, Ganganagar, requesting him to sign two hundred-rupee notes, Nos, 954393 and 030262, which were intended to be given to the accused as bribe and make arrangements for a trap to catch the accused. Gyaniram and Ranjeet Singh, along with Bahadur, who however, remained outside the District Magistrate's room, saw the District Magistrate Mr. Arora, THE latter initialled the notes and gave them over to Gyaniram and Ranjeet Singh. THE District Magistrate asked Mr. R. C. Oza, Extra First Class Magistrate Ganganagar, to be present at the time of the search of the accused, which was directed to be made by the Deputy Superintendent of Police. Mr. Dixit, Bahadur then asked Kapoor Singh to see if the accused was in his room, and so to, to contact him. Kapoor Singh, finding that the accused was in his room, asked him whether he should give the money to the accused at his house or in the office. THEreupon, it is said, the accused handed him over an envelop Ex. P. 3 (this is an inland letter in Urdu, which was received by the accused from his nephew who was at Delhi, urgently asking him for money) and said that Kapoor Singh might put the money into the envelop and pass it on to the accused in his office. THE complainant accordingly went back and told Bahadur all that had happened, and delivered the envelop to him. After some time, Bahadur gave Kapoor Singh the envelop containing the two hundred-rupee notes, which the latter handed over to the accused. Having done this, Kapoor Singh made a sign to Bahadur of his having performed his part, and the letter passed it on to Ranjeet Singh. THE Extra Magistrate, Mr. Oza and the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr. Dixit, who were waiting outside, entered the accused's room and made a search of his person and recovered the two hundred-rupee notes which were the same as had been signed by the District Magistrate. THEse notes were recovered wrapped in the envelop Ex. P. 3. THE complainant lodged a first information report in the police station. Ganganagar, which is Ex. P. 5. THE accused was in due course challaned to the learned Sessions Judge after sanction for prosecuting him had been obtained from the Board of Revenue and has been convicted under sec. 161 I. P. C. as already stated above.

(3.) BEFORE parting with this case, I must pause to point out that the learned Sessions Judge, although he come to the conclusion that the accused was guilty of an offence under sec. 161 I. P. C, thought fit to inflict a sentence of a fine of Rs. 1,000/- only against the accused. Assuming that the case was proved against the accused, the sentence was, in my opinion, wholly improper and inadequate. The learned Session Judge seems to have been impressed by the considerations that the accused would be dismissed, and that would entail the forfeiture of certain service benefits; but all that, in my judgment is altogether irrelevant for the purpose of awarding a proper sentence in cases of this kind. As already pointed out above, case of bribery are difficult to establish, but where they are so established, a substantial sentence of substantive imprisonment must be passed in an effective manner.