LAW FOR ALL

Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 - mere recovery of rexine bag is not sufficient when other ingredients of offence not proved - Trial court acquitted the accused - High court reversed - Apex court held that High Court has not noticed the very important lacuna in the prosecution case that as per the evidence of PW-2 and PW-3 Rameshwar Nath, the bribe money which was sought to be given to the accused on 08.07.1989 was in a black rexine bag and not in the brown rexine bag as shown to the witnesses before the trial court by the prosecution. It has further come to our notice that neither the two witnesses nor the C.B.I. officials put any signature or identification mark on the bottles containing solution which is the most crucial evidence in the case to prove the acceptance of the gratification by the appellant from the complainant. As per the statements of PW-2 and C.B.I. officials, the GC notes were not counted. However, it is a matter of serious doubt of acceptance the notes containing in the black rexine bag were touched by the accused.After careful observation of the above-mentioned facts and evidence on record and on careful examination of the aforesaid rival legal contentions urged on behalf of the parties, with reference to the extracted portion of the evidence of PW-2, PW-3 and PW-9, we are of the considered view that the prosecution has failed to prove the demand and acceptance of illegal gratification by the appellant from the complainant PW-2, upon whose evidence much reliance has been placed by the learned counsel for the respondent.=CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.920 of 2011 SATVIR SINGH ….APPELLANT VS. STATE OF DELHI THROUGH CBI. …..RESPONDENT = 2014- Aug. Part – http://judis.nic.in/supremecourt/filename=41855