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Baldev Singh v. State of Punjab

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 503 of 2014)Decided 26 Feb 2014
Criminal Appeal No. 503 of 2014
Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan · Justice Vikramajit Sen

Background

An agriculturist complained that an official demanded money to arrange an earlier and separate allocation of canal water for two fields. A vigilance operation resulted in recovery of Rs. 1,000 paid at the official's house. The trial court and High Court upheld the bribery charge, imposing three years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court upheld the conviction because both demand and acceptance were proved beyond reasonable doubt. The complainant's evidence, the shadow witness, recovery and hand-wash test supported the prosecution, and the defence that the money had been placed under files without a demand was rejected. Decisions acquitting other accused on weaker or conflicting evidence did not alter this case's proved facts. Considering the appellant's age of 62 and retirement, the Court reduced imprisonment to two years but increased the fine to Rs. 10,000, with nine months' additional imprisonment if unpaid.

Lesson Learnt

A bribery case turns on proof of demand and acceptance, assessed from the actual evidence. A case-specific reduction in imprisonment does not remove the conviction or mean that retirement excuses corrupt conduct.

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

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