State Of A.P vs P.Venkateshwarlu

2. The facts of the present matter before us are that the accused respondent was working as Sub Registrar in the office of Sub Registrar and Assurance, Sattypali, Khammam District. On 18.3.1995 one Sri Burra Venkateshwara Rao, complainant, approached the respondent to get a Will deed registered in the name of his wife for transfer of certain extent of land. As alleged, the accused respondent demanded a sum of Rs.1000/- for the said registration work. After some bargain the demand was reduced to Rs.500/-. Since the complainant was not willing to pay the said bribe amount, he approached the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Anti Corruption Bureau, Warrangal (P.W. 8) and lodged a complaint on 20.3.1995, who registered a case in Crime No.1/ACB-WKH/95 under Sections 7 and 11 of Prevention of Corruption Act, issued FIR and took up investigation. Thereafter, P.W.8 requested the complainant to come to Neeladri Guest House at Penuballi on 21.3.1995 with the necessary amount. Accordingly the complainant along with his friend, namely, V. Edukondalu (P.W.1), went to Neeladri Guest House at Penuballi on a motorcycle at about 1.00 P.M. and P.W.8 introduced the complainant to one V. Yugender (P.W.7) and another. Thereafter, the complainant was asked to give the money only when the officer demanded it. The trap party consisting of P.W.8, two mediators, two inspectors and two constables, left the Guest House in a Jeep while the complainant, P.W.1 and P.W.2 went on a motorcycle. The raid party stopped the Jeep at a little distance from the office of the respondent at Sattupally. The complainant and P.W.1 went to a hut situated within the premises of Sub Registrar’s office, where the complainant collected the Will document prepared by P.W.5 N.V. Chalapathi Rao, the document writer and stamps necessary for registration from P.W.4 B. Lakshmaiaha, the stamp vendor. Before handing over the Will document to the complainant, attestation was obtained from P.Ws. 1 and 2. Later on the complainant along with P.Ws. 1 and 2 went to the office of the respondent and gave the Will deed to the respondent, who after examining the Will deed, obtained the signatures of P.W.1, P.W.2 and P.W.3 K. Srinivas Rao, who were present there. When the complainant enquired about the registration fee of the document, the respondent said it would amount to Rs.81/-. The complainant took out Rs.81/- from inner pocket of his banian (vest) and gave it to respondent, who placed it in the table drawer. Thereafter, he prepared a receipt and handed it over to the complainant. It was subsequently alleged that the respondent demanded the bribe of Rs.500/- and that the complainant took out the tainted amount from his shirt pocket and gave it to the respondent, who kept the amount in the table drawer. Then P.W.1 came out of the office and gave the pre-arranged signal, pursuant to which the trap party entered into the office and P.W.8 - the Deputy Superintendent of Police (ACB) asked the respondent whether he has received the bribe amount to which the respondent denied. Then the phenolphthalein test was performed on fingers of both the hands of the respondent and the test on the right hand fingers proved positive. The respondent denied having received any bribe even when he was so asked by the mediators. On instructions of P.W.8, the mediators searched the right side drawer of the office table of the respondent and found three batches of currency notes in it, out of which one bundle containing currency notes of Rs.500 and Rs.100 denominations, tallied with the numbers noted by the mediators. The other bundle of Rs.9000/- was given account according to the records. An amount of Rs.9.50 paise was found in the drawer which was left by the customers due to non availability of change. Again on being asked, the respondent said that he did not know who kept the amount in the drawer. Post trap Panchnama was prepared and the respondent was arrested and released on bail. After completion of investigation, the Inspector of Police filed the charge- sheet. During the pendency of the trial, the de facto complainant Burra Venkateshwar Rao died on 10.6.1997.

4. On appeal by the respondent before the High Court, the learned Single Judge was of the view that the lower Court erred in coming to the conclusion that the accused was guilty of the offences under the above mentioned Sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the conviction and sentence imposed on the accused by the Court below were set aside and the accused was acquitted of the charges against him. The reasons adduced by the High Court for acquitting the accused respondent are as follows: The High Court disbelieved the testimony of P.W.1 as truthful. The High Court considered the theory of the defence that the document writer had foisted a false case, from the cross examination of P.W.1 and came to the conclusion that Chepu Chennaiah had visited the room of the Public Prosecutor. Another circumstance was that the prosecution did not record the statement of the so called complainant under Section 164 Cr.P.C. The prosecution got the statement of P.W.1 recorded, but not that of the complainant, under Section 164 Cr.P.C. However, the High Court noticed that it was not imperative in the instant case. The alleged trap was dated 21.3.1995 and the complainant died on 10.6.1997. Thus, the prosecution cannot take the plea that the complainant was not available for the recording of statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C. Another circumstance favouring the accused as noticed by the High Court was that whether it was necessary for the complainant to execute a Will in favour of his wife. The High Court was of the view that the complainant was a petty vendor, having no legal heirs, with only a second wife. In such a situation the property would automatically devolve upon her and there was no necessity to execute a Will deed. The Court was of the view that the positive result of the phenolphthalein test was not enough to hold the accused guilty. The High Court observed that it was not disputed that the complainant was carrying one set of amount in his banian pocket and the other in his shirt pocket. So the possibility of his touching the tainted currency notes at the time of taking out the registration amount could not be ruled out.

….....….……………………J (Pinaki Chandra Ghose) ….....…..…………………..J (Uday Umesh Lalit) New Delhi;

May 06, 2015.

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose pronounced the reportable judgment of the Bench comprising His Lordship and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Uday Umesh Lalit.

The appeal is allowed in terms of the signed reportable judgment as follows:-