IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION Criminal II Bail Application No.61 of 2010 Order on the Bail application of accused CRIMINAL SIDE Yashwant Singh Rawat S/o Bakhtawar Singh Rawat, R/o Village Jhallu, PO Devrajkhal, Patti Timarghi, District Pauri Garhwal ……….Applicant (In Jail) Versus State of Uttarakhand ------- Opposite party ________________________________________________________ Arising out of Case Crime No.20 of 2009, U/s 7/13(1)(D) r/w Section 13(2) Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, P.S. Vigilance Sector, Dehradun Dated: June 11, 2010 Hon’ble Dharam Veer, J. Heard Sri Sandeep Tandon, learned counsel for the applicant and Sri Amit Bhatt, learned Addl. GA for the State. As per the prosecution case, the present applicant, a PCS Officer, being posted as Employment Officer, Dehradun was nabbed on 21.12.2009 at about 12:45 PM from his office while demanding and accepting Rs.10,000/- as illegal gratification. The allegation against the applicant is that he was demanding money of Rs.10,000/- from the complainant Puran Singh as illegal gratification in lieu of handing over the cheque as payment of Rs.59,956/- to the complainant for the work of repairing of the computers in the office of the applicant, due to which the complaint was made by the complainant to Vigilance Department, on which the above proceedings were initiated. The necessary formalities for conducting the trap, as provided under the Act, were also been carried out. Learned counsel for the applicant argued that the applicant has been falsely implicated. It was further submitted that the disputed cheque was already handed over to the complainant on 18.12.2009 as is clear from its receipt, hence there was no occasion for the applicant to demand the bribe of Rs.10,000/- in lieu of that cheque. Per contra, learned Addl. GA argued that the applicant being a public servant and a PCS Officer, has been nabbed on the spot while demanding and accepting Rs.10,000/- as illegal gratification in lieu of handing over the cheque of Rs.59,956/- to the complainant for the repairing work done by him. He further submitted that before laying the trap, the veracity of the complaint was made and after finding it correct, the trap was laid. He further submitted that the receipt of the said cheque was prepared in advance by Sri Dheer Singh, the accountant of the present applicant which he got signed from the employee of the firm of the complainant when he went to the receive the cheque. Thereafter, Sri Dheer Singh asked the employee of the complainant Puran Singh to meet with the applicant to receive the cheque and when that employee met with the applicant for this cheque, this amount of bribe was demanded and this illegal demand was again repeated by the applicant when the complainant Puran Singh himself met with him for the cheque and therefore, when the complainant gave his complaint in writing to the Vigilance Department on 19.12.2009, thereafter looking into the correctness of the complaint, the trap was laid and on 21.12.2009 at about 12:45 PM, the accused was nabbed red handed while demanding and accepting Rs.10,000/- as illegal gratification by the Trap Party headed by Inspector Bhan Singh in presence of two independent witnesses, namely, Govind Dass, Supply Inspector, DSO Office, Dehradun and Dinesh Chandra Singh Bisht, Manager, District Industrial Centre. After considering the above-said facts and circumstances, on hearing learned counsel for the parties, contents of the FIR and other papers available on record particularly considering the fact that the applicant, who was a PCS Officer being posted as Employment Officer, was nabbed on the spot while demanding and accepting the illegal gratification of Rs.10,000/- in presence of two independent witnesses, namely, Govind Dass and Dinesh Chandra Singh Bisht, as well as looking to the gravity of offence, it is not a fit case where the applicant is entitled for bail. The bail application is liable to be rejected and is accordingly rejected. (Dharam Veer, J.) 11.06.2010 Rajeev Dang