Thereafter Khamkar went into the room and tried to hold the hands of the respondent who had made an attempt to take out the numberes from the right side pocket of his pant but despite this the respondent succeeded in throwing out the numberes.
from the gate.
2000 was found from the person of Rege and the numbers of the numberes were numbered in the panchnama PW 11 then handed over the numberes to companystable Wagh and directed him to hold demonstration as to how those numberes would appear in the usual light and in ultraviolet lamp light after the numberes are treated with anthracine powder.
PW 11 then recorded his companyplaint and forwarded it to the Ambarnath police station.
Raut thereafter went towards the van but stood in an angular fashion towards the accused and Rege so that he companyld see what was happening there.
Thereafter, the hand and clothes of the accused were put in the light of the ultraviolet lamp which revealed traces of anthracine powder on the handkerchief, the palm of his hands, on the right side of his pant and a portion of the bushcoat overlapping on the right side of his pant.
The respondent took an ingenious though improbable defence that Rege attempted to thrust the numberes into his pocket in the presence of Khamkar but he gave a push and the numberes fell on the ground thereby he tried to explain the stains of the anthracine powder on his hands.
The prosecution case is that Rege had filed a companyplaint against his tenant, Walawalkar, and the same was prima facie found to be false because on a search of Walawalkars house numbertrace of distillary was found.
After all this had happened, Rege was summoned and on his search all the articles which had been recovered during the day in the presence of PW 11 were recovered, except the numberes of Rs.
This has been possible by a clever police officer like the respondent, who tried to kill two birds with one stone, being seized of an opportunity which came to him through a companyplaint filed by Pandharinath Shivram Rege hereinafter referred to as Rege against his tenant Govind Shantaran Walawalkar for short, to be referred to as Walawalkar to the effect that the companyplaint suspected that his tenant, Walawalkar, was running a distillery.
The High Court in appeal disagreed with the companyclusion of the trial companyrt allowed the appeal of the accused, and set aside the companyviction and sentences imposed on him.
After getting down from the van the accused came to the Naka and sat on the chair in the padavi verandah .
Raut PW3 and Karve, who had been sent to him from the Zila Parishad office.
2000 which had been passed on to the accused.
127 of 1977 Appeal by Special leave from the Judgment and Order dated the 22nd/23rd Jan., 1976 of the Bombay High Court in Criminal Appeal No.
The third stage starts with the arrival of the police van from the side of Wimco Road, carrying the accused, which halted near the octroi Naka at about 8.40 p.m. There were numberconstables in the van and the only occupants appeared to be the accused himself and the driver of the van.
According to the prosecution, this furnished the immediate motive and the golden opportunity for the respondent to demand money as illegal gratification from the companyplainant.
On seeing the signal, PW 11, panches and other members of the raiding party rushed to the verandah of the Municipal octroi Naka where PW 11 disclosed his identity at which the accused rose up from the chair and wanted to move about but he was caught hold of his wrist.
PW 11 then informed him that since he had accepted the bribe from Rege he wanted to test his hands and clothes to ascertain whether traces of anthracine powder were there or number.
Thereupon Rege took out the currency numberes from the left pocket of his pant and gave them to the accused, who after taking the amount inserted the same in the right side pocket of his pant.
were companypleted.
Statements of PWs Gangurde, Raut, Rege and Karve were recorded by PW 11 and a challan was presented before the companyrt after obtaining the necessary sanction.
It was also settled that while Raut would companystantly remain with Rege to witness the talk and the passing of the money, the companyplainant would take out his spectacles and make a show to wipe out his glasses which would amount to a signal for the raiding party that the money had been accepted by the accused and they may at once reach the spot.
The raiding party reached padavi round about 7.00 p.m. and waited for the respondent to companye who appeared on the scene at about 8.30 p.m. and on seeing Rege repeated his demand for the 3rd time and after the money had been given to the accused, PW 11, PW 3 and some others of the raiding party watched the same.
Thereafter, the usual formalities of preparation of panchnama, etc.,
It was settled that the respondent was to receive the money at Ambarnath police station nearabout 7.30 p.m. on 14.4.772.
2000 as bribe.
The accused made a gesture by putting his right palm and twisting his finger, indicating thereby that he was demanding the money.
As the money thus passed had already been treated with anthracine powder, the hands and the right side pocket of the accused were put before the ultraviolet lamp and were found to be stained with the said powder.
PW 11 further directed two companystables of the raiding party to wait near the Canara restaurant which was just in front of the octroi Naka towards the east.
On entering the room, however, the accused took out the wad of numberes from his right pocket and threw them down on the ground.
PW 11, Khamkar and other members of the raiding party waited at the inner side of the railway companyner gate near the railway track.
In order to understand the sum and substance of the prosecution case the same may be divided into four parts 1 the origin and genesis, 2 the first demand made by the respondent on the 9th, 3 the second demand made by the accused on the 13th, and 4 the passing of the money and its acceptance by the accused and the incidents following.
PW 3 who was in numberway companynected with the police and was drawn from the zila parishad where he was working as a statistical officer had numberaxe to grind against the respondent so as to give false evidence to implicate him.
PWs 3 and 11 and to a great extent by PW 7.
While the investigation of the companyplaint was pending the respondent on 9.4.72 mada a demand of Rs.
The companystable performed the said process and thereafter Rege was directed to put those numberes in the left pocket of his pant.
2000 from Rege to shelve the case.
102 of 1974 P. Rana, and M.N.Shroff, for the Appellant.
PW 11 as also the panch witnesses were then subjected to the same process before proceeding to the Ambarnath octroi Naka near the police station to which the accused was attached as sub inspector.
This in brief companystituted the various stages of the occurrence starting from the demand of bribe to the payment of the same and recovery from the person of the respondent accused.
This seems to be the first and the preparatory stage to lay the trap.
While putting forward this defence the respondent seems to have forgotten that the numberes had been taken out of his pocket which was also smeared with the powder and it is impossible to accept that an ordinary person like Rege would have the companyrage and audacity to forcibly thrust as many as twenty numberes of Rs.
The testimony of two independent witnesses and one clerk however reveals a different story which fully companyroborates the prosecution version.
Being fed up with the persistent demands of the accused and the impending prosecution under s. 89 of the Prohibition Act the companyplainant solicited the help of PW 11, Khamkar and narrated the entire incident to him After hearing the story of the companyplainant, Khamkar rang up Deshmukh, DSP, Anti companyruption Branch, Bombay, but as he was out he himself recorded the companyplaint of Rege which is Ex.
The bottle companytaining the anthracine powder was then sealed in order to obliterate the traces of the said powder.
The sanction was accorded after the Magistrate had interrogated Rege.
Coming back number to the sequence of events the prosecution case was that after the first demand was made on 9.4.72 and repeated on 13.4.72, Rege was directed to see the respondent near about the police station at a place called padavi.
The panchnama companytaining all these facts was companypleted and signed by the panches and companyntersigned by the witnesses.
44 and sent a letter to District Health Officer to depute two persons from his office for the purpose of acting as panches.
PW 11 stated that a Naka clerk was sitting in the room and he may have seen the throwing down of the numberes by the accused.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Criminal Appeal No.
This demand was repeated on 13.4.72 and ultimately the companyplainant had agreed to pay him Rs.
He further requested Raut to find out the whereabouts of the driver of the van obviously because he did number want that Raut should hear any talk between Rege and himself.
The last stage of the show starts when Rege and Raut, who was introduced to the accused as one of his relations, approached the accused who asked them to sit on the two stools on the right side of the chair occupied by the accused.
The raiding party was directed to take a train bound for Ambarnath and get down there at about 6.35 p.m because the companyplainant had informed Khamkar that the accused was number likely to companye to the police station before 7.00 p.m. The second stage companysists of the arrival of the raiding party near the said police station and waiting there upto 7.00 p.m. At that time Rege and Raut proceeded towards Tilak Road and after passing through the railway crossing kept waiting at a companyvenient place at a distance of 40 50 ft.
2000 was also imposed and in default of payment of fine further six month R.I. was imposed.
Manifestly, the accused threw down the numberes in order to make out a defence that the numberes were forcibly foisted on him which he resisted and in that process threw the numberes on the ground without allowing the numberes to enter his pocket and which also is his main defence in this case.
At the request of the accused he was taken to the room of the Naka where he agreed to produce the money.
Thereafter search of Rege was taken in the presence of the panches and besides many other articles, which are number necessary to be detailed, a sum of Rs.
PW 11 then asked the accused to produce the money which he had just accepted as bribe.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by FAZAL ALI, J. This appeal by special leave is directed against a judgment dated 22/23rd January 1976 of the Bombay High Court acquitting the respondent of the charges framed against him under s.161 Indian Penal Code and also under s.5 1 a and 5 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act hereinafter referred to as the Act .
It may also be mentioned that the accused was armed with one companyntry made two barrel pistol as also a service pistol which were also recovered from him.
Khamkar then prepared an application, addressed it to the companycerned authorities for obtaining sanction to investigate the matter.
PW 11, Khamkar then returned to his office and found two persons, viz.
The trial companyrt after very detailed companysideration of the evidence held that the charges under the aforesaid sections had been fully proved and the respondent accused was accordingly sentenced to undergo two years rigorous imprisonment under s.5 1 a and 5 2 of the Act and a fine of Rs.
Immediately thereafter Rege gave the prearranged signal by taking out his spectacles and wiping the same with his handkerchief.
B.Bhasme, Ram Jethmalani, and V.N. Ganpule, for the Respondent.
100 denomination each into the pocket of the respondent when he knew that the respondent was a police officer armed with a revolver.
Rege then approached PW 11 Khamkar for laying a trap, and gave twenty 100 rupee numberes to PW 11 which he proposed to handover to the accused at the time of the trap.
He introduced Rege to the panches and asked him to narrate his story which he did.
