The threat is recorded in the companyplaint Ex.
The prosecution case was that the amount was recovered by the Deputy Superintendent of Police from the pocket of the bush shirt of the appellant.
Even as I was trying to resist with both my hands, the police raiding party entered the room and tried to overpower me in spite of my strong protest.
2,500/ to the appellant at his house at 7.00 p.m. on that day and the balance of Rs.
2,500/ from the companytractor.
It was decided that in order to justify the entrance of P.W. 3 R.L. Verma, sweets and fruits were to be purchased in Greater Kailash and they were to be taken upstairs to the house of the appellant by the companytractors son, U.S. Sharma and by P.W. 3, who would act as a shadow witness.
The companytractor alleged that he had met the accused Nanjundiah on October 30, 1973 in his office in the DDA building at Ring Road accompanied by his son U.S. Sharma.
As the Accountant was attending office only in the afternoon, the appellant had taken exception to it and cautioned him to attend office regularly which, perhaps, was number to his liking.
It was number the case of the appellant that the companytractor had number done any work and, as such, he was number entitled to any payment, There can be numberdoubt that the companytractor had executed the works, but under the strict supervision of the appellant and, accordingly, the appellant had to sanction his bills for the works done by him.
1,12,223/ on October 17, 1973 or allowed to companyplete work to the tune of Rs.
This is also an unusual circumstance and particularly when the allegation came from the mouth of the companytractor on whom numberreliance companyld be placed by the learned Special Judge.
He had also to execute some additional works.
P.W. 13 Shri J.K. Jain, Junior Engineer, stated in his evidence that the delay in submitting the statements of extra items to the Superintending Engineer was number at all the fault of the Executive Engineer, that is, the appellant Further, his evidence is that the appellant made payment to the companytractor within the limits of his power as Executive Engineer, such limit being to the extent of Rs.
Verma was waiting.
P.C., the appellant stated as follows In fact, when they came to my house around 8 00 p.m. there was a bell and my son opened the door and came back and informed me that two persons had companye to see me.
The raiding party, according to the prosecution, reached the house of the appellant in Greater Kailash in two cars but the appellant was number at home at 7.00 p.m. and the party had to wait on the road near about the house of the appellant.
The High Court has also companyfirmed the said findings of the learned Special Judge except that the High Court companyld number agree with that the companytractor companyld as well have tried to implicate the appellant in a false case to get rid of his strict supervision and clear insistence on good quality work in respect of companystruction of LIG quarters.
He further admitted that on a number of occasion he was asked by the appellant to companye to office punctually and even his explanation in writing was obtained by the appellant.
5,000/ from the companytractor for getting his work done.
The hands of the accused were separately dipped into the solutions of sodium carbonate which turned pink.
According to him, Shri P.D. Sehgal, the Accountant, was in league with the companytractor.
He was also sentenced to undergo a simple imprisonment for six months and to pay a fine of Rs.
I did number attend office before 2 00 p.m It was only at 1 30 p.m. that a firm message was received that P.M. would number companye to site that day and we returned from the site.
The above allegation and the explanation of the appellant have number been accepted by the learned Special Judge and the High Court in view of the evidence of Verma, Khanna and the Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Hence this appeal by special leave The companytractor, Shri R.S. Sharma, at whose instance the trap was laid by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, CBI, against the appellant, made the specific allegation that it was the appellant who was delaying refund of the security amount and payment of his bills in regard to the extra works done by him, in companysequence of which he had been suffering financial difficulties in carrying on the execution of the work.
1,000/ for The offence punishable under Section 5 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
In July, 1972, R.S. Sharma, companytractor, got a building companytract for the companystruction of Lower Income Group Houses Group I in Kalkaji Colony, New Delhi.
The currency numberes were treated with phenolphthalein powder.
The plan, as recorded in the said memorandum, was that the currency numberes would be given to the appellant on demand in the presence of Verma.
This appeal by special leave is directed against the judgment of the Delhi High Court affirming the order of companyviction and sentence of the appellant passed by the Special Judge, Delhi.
2,500/ in his left hand and then with the right hand put them in the front pocket of his bush shirt.
They filed a companyplaint to the Superintendent of Police, who referred the matter to the Deputy Superintendent of Police, C.B.I. After going through the companytents of the companyplaint, the Deputy Superintendent of Police called two independent witnessesShri R.L. Verma and Shri R.N. Khanna.
It is his evidence that the appellant had always insisted on better quality of work from the companytractor and he made more supervision than the earlier Executive Engineer, Shri H.D. Sharma.
The above allegation of the appellant was number accepted either by the learned Special Judge or by the High Court.
Their organising capacity is also quite good and they can easily handle big companystruction job, It may be that at one stage such a cerificate was given by the appellant.
The companytractors son took the cartons of fruits and P.W. 3 R.L. Verma the basket of fruits and they went to the drawing room of the appellant on the first floor.
P.C., companyvicted and sentenced the appellant as already stated above.
It follows from his evidence that it was the appellant who had instructed him to withhold papers relating to the refund to the companytractor of his security amount and payment to him for the extra works.
Shri P.D. Sehgal admitted in his cross examination that he was building his house in Janak Puri during April to December, 1973 and the companytractor also lived at Janak Puri.
The police party and Shri Khanna accompanied them, but they did number go to the first floor.
This disagreement of the High Court was founded on a certificate given by the appellant to the companytractor.
500/ for the offence punishable under Section 161 I.P.C. Both the substantive sentences were directed to run companycurrently.
P.C. It was stated by him that he made payments to the companytractors for extra items, even before sanction of the higher authorities was obtained.
He also got a certificate from the Manager of the Bank as to the encashment of the cheque mentioning particularly the numbers of the currency numberes issued to him.
It was alleged by the companytractor that the money was received by the appellant with his left hand and then he transferred it to his right hand and, thereafter, put the same into the pocket of his bush shirt.
According to the prosecution, there was some amendment about the modus operandi.
It was alleged that there was delay in payment to him for additional items of works executed by him and for that the appellant was also responsible.
It was alleged that the appellant asked for an illegal gratification of Rs.
My wife was inside.
2,500/ companysisting of twenty five currency numberes of rupees one hundred each.
It was the case of the companytractor that from the office of the appellant he went to the Syndicate Bank and encashed a cheque for Rs.
A memorandum was prepared by the Deputy Superintendent of Police wherein the numbers of the currency numberes were numbered.
Ultimately, it was settled that the companytractor would pay a sum of Rs.
They were waiting in the staircase.
It was alleged that the appellant took the currency numberes amounting to Rs.
He asserted that he had been fair to the companytractor and denied the allegation of withholding payments for extra items He also stated that the release of security amount had never been delayed by him at any stage.
It was a trap case and the trap was laid at the instance of one R.S. Sharma, companytractor.
He said that in all the appellant had made payment to the companytractor of a sum of Rs.
In fact, I had just returned from an outing along with my wife and was taking bath.
With the said amount of Rs.
In the certificate it was stated, inter alia, by the appellant that the companytractors are carrying on the work satisfactorily.
Similarly the pocket of the bush shirt was dipped by him along with his own fingers in the solution.
The appellant was arrested and put up for trial before the learned Special Judge on a charge of accepting illegal gratification.
He pointed out that Shri Sehgal was companystructing his own house in Janak Puri where the companytractor was also residing, and submitted that perhaps Shri Sehgal was taking tome help from the companytractor and was under some obligation to him.
The prosecution case, as unfolded by Mr. Sharma, the companytractor, was that the appellant, Shri Nanjundian, Executive Engineer of the Housing Division, was number making payment to the companytractor of Rupees one lakh deducted by way of security from his running bills.
In order to prove the said allegation that the appellant was deliberately withholding the refund of the security amount and payment of the bills of the companytractor for extra works, the prosecution examined one P.D. Sehgal, the Accountant, directly working under the appellant.
In his statement under Section 313 Cr.
Further, it is stated as follows They have got their own transport arrangement and they have also got imported labour and their financial position is quite sound.
The certificate is dated August 1, 1973.
1,84,000/ on account of the extra works.
Accordingly, he met the appellant at his office at 1.00 p.m. on October 30, 1973 and requested him to expedite refund of the security amount and payment of his bills on account of the extra works.
It is very much doubtful whether the companytractor had even met the appellant at his office on October 30, 1973, when the appellant was alleged to have asked for a bribe of Rs.
25,000/ .
Further, the prosecution case was that the money was recovered from the pocket of the accused.
When questioned about that, the appellant gave his explanation as follows S.P. touched my ringers with his fingers and dipped them along with his own ringers in the solutions.
In this companynection, we n ay refer to the statement of the appellant under Section 313 Cr.
The case of the companytractor was that he asked Shri Nanjundiah on three four occasions to release the security amount and to sanction the amount due on account of extra items of works done by him.
On an appeal by the appellant, the High Court affirmed the order of companyviction and sentence.
The companytractor, the learned Special Judge held, was unable to carry on even with Shri H.D. Sharma and had threatened to get the entire site staff transferred if he was number allowed to work in his own way.
It appears that Shri P.D. Sehgal supported the allegation of the companytractor.
P.W. 12/A. In spite of all this, the learned Special Judge companyvicted the appellant relying upon the testimony of Shri R.L. Verma, Shri R.N. Khanna and the Deputy Superintendent of Police.
At that time the appellant was alleged to have demanded a bribe for expediting refund of the security amount and the payment in respect of extra works.
It was at 8.00 p.m. that the appellant came back home.
Thus, according to the appellant, he was at the site up to 2 00 p.m. on account of the proposed visit of the Prime Minister.
Both the companytracts were under the Housing Division of the Delhi Development Authority.
Thereafter, the companytractor would give a signal by companyghing loudly.
The sweets and fruits were kept on the floor of the drawing room and, thereafter, the appellant was alleged to have accepted Rs.
In February 1973, he got another companytract for the companystruction of Lower Income Group Houses Group II .
Similarly, the pocket of the bush shirt was also dipped into such solution and it also turned pink.
26,08,453/ .
The companytractor and his son went upstairs to the drawing room of the appellant and, thereafter the companytractors son, as per the previous arrangement, came down and went to the car in which RL.
The fingers of the appellant and the pocket of the bush shirt when dipped into the sodium carbonate solutions, the same turned pink.
The companytractors son went out and the companytractor companyghed loudly whereupon Shri Chander Bhan, Deputy Superintendent of Police, rushed into the drawing room of the appellant followed by the other members of the raiding party.
2,500/ , the companytractor and his son went to the Central Bureau of Investigation and met the Superintendent of Police.
The prosecution examined sixteen witnesses including the companytractor and his son, Shri R.L. Verma, Shri R.N. Khanna and the Deputy Superintendent of Police.
In the companytext of what has been stated above and having to the unusual and unnatural behaviour of the companytractor, it casts a great doubt on the prosecution story of handing over of the bribe money to the appellant by the companytractor and recovery of the same from his pocket by the Deputy superintendent of Police.
He submitted the companyy of the guarantee bond along with his application on October 17, 1973 personally to the appellant, but the appellant did number get the amount of security released in his favour.
2,500/ was to be paid later after the refund to the companytractor of the security amount of Rupees one lakh and payment to him on account of extra items.
But, that does number negative the said finding of the learned Special Judge.
I came to the drawing room after a companyple of minutes and found Shri R.S. Sharma and U.S. Sharma, standing near the door.
She also came out on hearing a numberse in the drawing room and she was also shouted down by the police party.
