S.Ravikumar, v. State Rep by, The Inspector of Police
Case brief
What is this about?
Quash petition under Section 528 BNSS by Accused No. 3 (S. Ravikumar) against final report in Spl.C.C.No. 4 of 2022, Special Judge/CJM (Prevention of Corruption Act), Thiruvallur; Vigilance and Anti-Corruption trap case (Crime No. 06/AC/2020/C.C. II, 08.06.2020); alleged Rs. 10,000 bribe for dealership licence renewal; decoy witness LW3 statement read in Tamil; two-views doctrine at quash/discharge stage (prosecution-favouring view prevails); prior discharge of A1 and A2 in Criminal R.C. Nos. 579 and 751 of 2024 held inapplicable to A3 because it rested on allegations being against A3 and A4; licence-renewal defence left to trial. Disposition: dismissed; defences reserved. Relevant terms: quashing of charge sheet, Prevention of Corruption Act trap case, discharge application, prima facie assessment, Government Advocate (Crl.Side).
What did the court decide?
Whether the L.W.3 statement refers to the petitioner asking the money for himself or for the said John cannot be decided in a quash petition and is a matter for trial; prima facie, if the statement is interpreted on behalf of the prosecution to mean the money was meant for the petitioner also, and two views are possible, the view in favour of prosecution prevails at the quash/discharge stage. Accordingly, the Court was unable to agree with the petitioner's contention that the money was demanded only by A2 and accepted by A4.