Allowed

K.Shankar v. the State of a.P., Acb, Karimnagar

Telangana HC20 Jun 2023CRLA/463/2007

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

In Criminal Appeal No.463 of 2007, the High Court of Telangana allowed the appeal against a conviction for corruption under Section 7 and 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Court held that mere recovery of the bribe amount, combined with hostile witnesses denying the demand and lack of corroboration proving official work pending with the appellant, was insufficient for conviction, l

What did the court decide?

Criminal appeal allowed; impugned judgment of Special Judge set aside; bail bonds discharged; miscellaneous applications closed.

K.Shankar Vs the State of a.P., Acb, Karimnagar — Corruption | Telangana HC (2023)

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HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD

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13251 |

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TUESDAY,THE TWENTIETH DAY OF JUNE TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY THREE

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PRESENT

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THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K.SURENDER

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CRIMINAL APPEAL NO:463 0F 2007

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Appeal under Section 37 4(2) ol Cr.p.C against the Judgment Dated13.04.2007 in c.c.No. 23 of 2001 on the fite of the court of the principal Special Judge. For SPE and ACB cases City Civil Court at Hyderabad

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Between:

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K.Shankar, S/o Bhoomaiah, Sub-Engineer A.p., Transco, Town Sub_Division, Karimnagar. R/o 3-6-681, AdarshnagZr, Xarimnigai.^---'

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ANO

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..,APELLANT/ACCUSED

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I*J!19^9fjn, {!8,^{reo by tnspecrorof poticeAnti Corruption Bureau,} Aarrmnagar Range' Karimnagar'

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...RESpoDENT/coMpLArNT

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Counsel for the Appeilant: SRt. E. VENKATA REDDY

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Counsel for the Respondent: -

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The Court made the following: JUDGMENT

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HONOURABLE^{SRI JUSTICEK.SURENDER}

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CRIMINAL^{APPEALNO.463 of 2OO7}

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JUDGMENT:

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i. The aPPell:Lnt^is aggrieved by^{the convictionunder} Section 7 ar-rd^{13(1)(d) r'lu'13(2) of thePrevention of} corruption^{Act andseLltencedto one Yei)I rigorous} imprisonment^{and to pzry firrc ol Rs'2'OOO/- under each count} vide^{judgmenl ir: C.C.No 2ll r''f 202 I dated 13'O4 ''2OO7 passed} by the Principal^{Special Jurlge for SPE & ACB Cases'City Civil} Courts, Flyderabrrcl,^{present appeal is hled'}

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Briefly, the^{case oI the prosecutionis that on 23'05'1999'} P.Ws.5 and^{6, li'ho are the officialsof A'P'Transco visited the} house ol^{P-W.1and inspette rl the service conne<:tionbearing} No.I129 and^{it u'as found Lhat PW'1 was extracting enerS'} by-passing^{thc meter lvproviding aioop wire from the} incoming^{phase of the mett:r to cut out-goingto the terminai'} Since it^{^ras a r.ase of pili:rrrge of enerry,an inspectionnote} was prepared^{arLd handed ovcr to the appellalt for proceeding} further by tl-re crrmpett:nt auihority.^{P.W' 1 enquired aboutthe}

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said proceedings and he was asked to^{meet the appellant.} P.W. 1 met the appellant on 14.06.1999 and enquired^about the case. The appellant allegedly informed that he has to^pay an amount of Rs.18,000/- towards hne. P.W. 1^pleadedwith the appellant and the appellant demanded an amount of Rs.5,000/- to be paid as bribe to extend ofhcial favour of not initiating action. On repeated requests made by P.w. 1, the bribe amount was reduced to Rs.3,OOO l-. The said amount was asked to be paid on 21.06.1999. P.W. 1 approached r\CB ollrce on 20.06.1999 and lodged the complaint at 10.00 a.m with the DSP-P.W.9.

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P.W.9 instructed P.W. 1 to come on the next day. After verification of the antecedents of the appellant and genuineness of the complaint, permission was sought and crime was registered on 21.06.1999 and on the same day i.e., P.W.3 and another government officials were asked to act as mediators to the trap to be laid on the basis of the complaint of P.W. 1. Ex.P9 is the complaint drafted by P.W.2 and given by P.W.1 on 20.06.1999. Having verihed the contents, the

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mediator/P.W.ll dralted tle proceedings Ijx.P20. Having concluded the preliminan' ltroceedings in the ofhce, around 11.00 a.m, the trap part- \rent to the office of the appellant situated in Karrmnagar on lwo wheelers. P.W.2 was asked by P.W.9/DSP to accompan]' P.W. 1 and infcrrm about the happenings beiween P.W, 1 and the appeilant. Both P.Ws. i and 2 entered rnto the offict:. At the same time, P.W.2^gave a pre-arranged signal intimaling the acceptance of bribe by the appellant in tht: snacks bar-. The trap party entered into the snacks bar in the office premises. Sodium carbonate solution was prepared irr two glasscs and the appeilant was asked to rinse both his hands and also fingers separately. Both the solutions turnecl positivc. OrL questioning by l).w.9, the bribe amount n,as hirnded o/er Lo the trap party from his shirt pocket. The sairI amount u'as seized and the proceedings were concluded in the olfice plcrnises at 2.15 p.m. Ex.P20 is the post trap proct:t dirrgs.

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The investigation ri,as lranded over to p.\V. l1/lnspector, who complete<1 i,vestigatr.rr and hled chargr: sheet lor the

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offences under^{Section 7 and 13(1)(d) r/w section13(2)of the}

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Act

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Learned Special^{.ludge examined P'Ws'P1 to Pl 1 and} marked Exs.Pi^{to P28 on behatf of the prosecution'D'W'1was} examined on^{behalf of the appellant and Exs Dl and D2 were} marked.

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Learned counsel^{appearing for the appellantwould} submit that^{both the complainant and P'W'2/accompanying} witncss turned^{hostile to the prosecution case and also stated} that the amount^{was thrust into the pocket of the appellant'} Further, the^{prosecution failed to prove the aspect o[ demand} since P.W.1^{has disowned the complaint and the contents of} complaint Bx.P9^{were not proved' Both P'Ws' land 2 denied} any kind^{of demand by the appellant, as such' the appellantis} entitled to^{be acquittedof the charge' He relied on the} judgment of Honble^{SupremeCourt inthe cases of; i)} B.Jayaraj^{v. Stateof A.P in Crimina-lAppeal No'696 of 2Ol4;}

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ii) K.Shanthamma v. State of Telanganat and argued that in the absence o1' proof o1- dernand, the prosecution case has to fail. since P.V,'s. I and 2 clid not support the case of the prosecution. on thc basis ,rf the judgments rendered by the Hon'ble Suprenre Court, thc appellant has to be acquitted.

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On the otlrer hand, lerarned Special Counsel appearing for ACB would submit that recovery of the bribe amount was from the pocket of the appellant at his instance. In fact, the circumstances in Lhe casc' that (i) there was an inspection in the house of P W.l by P\'5 and PW6 (ii) they found pilferage and a note was prcparecl, incircate lhat there was demand and acceptance as the appellarnL was the person to initiate action against P.W. 1. Since tbe appellant was the person in-charge to prosecute P.W. I , oflicial lirr,rur is evident. The inspection note of P.W. I u,ith regard to 1-.ilterage of enerry r.r,as prepared by P.Ws.S and 5 was with rl're appellant, AS such, both the crrcumstances i.e ., pe nding ',r,ork and also rt:covery of bribe amount unernngly point towards appellant with regard to

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1 2022 SCC OnLinc sC 213

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demand and^{acceptanceof bribe by the appellant' In the said} circumstances,^{presumption is raisedand the appellant has} failed to discharge^{his burden' In support of his contentions'} he relied on^{the judgments of Hon'lcle Supreme Court in the} case of Neeraj^{Dutta v. State (Government of NCT of Delhi)2} and argued^{that hostilityof the complainantcannot be madc} basis to record^{acquittaland the Court can rely upon the other} evidence adduced^{by the prosecutionto infer demand of bribe} He, a-lso relied^{on the judgmentof Hon'bleSupremeCourt in} the case of N.Narsinga^{Rao v' State of Andhra Pradesh3ald} argued that the^{presumptioncan be drawn on the basis of the} amount being^{recovered from the accused' He also reliedon} the^{judgmentofHonbleSupremeCourt inthe case of} T.Shankar^{Prasad v.State ofA'Pa wherein the Hon'ble} Supreme Court^{held that presumption underSection20 of the}

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'?2022^{LiveLaw(5c)1029}

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I Appeal (Crl.)719 of 1995, dated 12.1).2000

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o (2004) 3 SuPreme Court Cases 753

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Act is a legal plesurnption Ilowever, the saicl presumption is rebuttal by prool and no1 bv urere explanation.

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B. The de .facto complainant/P.W. 1 and also p.W. I accompanying witness/P.\V 2 have turned hostile to the prosecution case and totallv denied that anll demand was made by the appellant. In the said back ground, if the other evidence adducecl by the plosecution is convincing regarding demand and acccptance of lr-ibe, the same can br: relied upon to record conviclion.

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In the prcsent casc. P,Ws.5 and 6 were persons, according to the prosecutiorr. n ho inspected tl-ie premises of P.W. 1 and prepared al inspection note and halded over it to the appellant. Horvever. both P.Ws.S and 6 tur-ned hostile to the prosecution case and stated that the said note was prepared and handed ovc:' to the Assistant. Divisionat Bngineer. Both P.Ws.5 and r.r were declared hostile and crossexamined by thr: public prosecutor. However, nothing was elicited in the cr,ss-examirr, rlion to say that the proceedings were in fact pending with thc appellalt. At this juncture. it is

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r*;*

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relevant to note the cross-examination^{of DSP, ACB, which} reads as foilows:

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"lt is true that^{pilferageof power is an offencc.As seen from} contents of Ex.P9.^P.W. 1 alleged^{to havecommittedthcftof energr.} It is true that ADE was competent^{to imposehne for commitLing} theft of energr. [t is truc that^{AO was sub engineerat that time and} he was not competent to impose^{any ltne on the person who} comrnits theft of enerry. AO had^{no powerto uriteoff any such} fine/pena1ty."

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As seen lrom the said statement made by DSP in^the Court, the appeilalt was not competent to impose any^fine ernd had no power to write off any such fine. It was the^ADE who was competent to impose hne. In the back ground of the hostility of the ofhcia-l witnesses P.Ws.5 and 6 and also the cle facto^{cornplainant/P.W.1 and P.W.2, there is no other evidence} to substantiate that the appellant was ln authoritv and demanded amount from P.W. 1

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1 1. In the absence of proof of demand and also that any ofhcial work was pending with the appellant, mere recovery of the amount at the instance of appeilant cannot be made basis to convict him. P.W. 1 stated that he has thrust the amount into the pocket of the appellant. The same is the^evidence of

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P.W.2. In the saicl circumstances, u,hen there is no evidence as to what transpired in betwecr.r P.Ws.1 and 2 ald tl-re appellant apart from the ervidence ol P.Ws.1 and 2 and lurther there being no corroboration b1r ar-ry of the olficial wjtness to s[ate that it was the appellant ra'ith whom the work o1 P.W. 1 was pending or the person re sponsible to initiatt: proceedings against P.W.l, benefit of c1oubt has to be exl.ended to the appellant

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,Accordingly Criminal r\ppeai is a,llowed by setting aside impugned judgmr-'nt of learned Special Judge in CC No.23 of 200 1 dated 13.04.2007. Sirrce thc appellant is on bail, his bail bonds shall star rcl discharged. Consequently, miscellaleous applications, rI any pending, shall stand closed.

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SD/. K. SRINIVAS RAO JOINT REGISTRAR

//TRUE COPY//

r- 1,, - tl _,

SECTION OFFICER

One Fair Copy to the Hon'ble Sri Justice K. SURENDER (For His Lordships Kind Perusal)

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To,

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The Principal Special Judge for SPE and ACB qases City Civil Court, Hyderabad

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11 LR Copies.

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. I[: X:.*T_"BI;i"", Union of rndia Minisrry of Law, Justice and company 4. The Secretary, Telanoana Advocates Associalion Library, High Court Buildings, Hyderabadl

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