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B. Jayaraj v. State of Andhra Pradesh

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 696 of 2014)Decided 28 Mar 2014
Criminal Appeal No. 696 of 2014
Chief Justice P. Sathasivam · Justice Ranjan Gogoi · Justice N.V. Ramana

Background

A revenue officer was convicted of demanding and accepting Rs. 250 from a fair-price shop operator to release essential commodities. Although marked currency was recovered from him, the complainant denied the alleged demand at trial and described the money as a licence-renewal fee.

Decision Breakdown

The Court allowed the appeal and set aside both the bribery convictions and sentences. Recovery of money alone did not prove that the officer demanded or knowingly accepted an illegal payment. The complainant's earlier accusation and the trap witness's account of that accusation could not fill the gap left by the absence of evidence proving demand. Without those foundational facts, the statutory presumption could not rescue the prosecution's case.

Lesson Learnt

In a bribery prosecution, finding marked money with an official is not enough by itself; the prosecution must establish the essential facts of the illegal demand and acceptance.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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