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C. Sukumaran v. State of Kerala

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 192 of 2015)Decided 29 Jan 2015
Criminal Appeal No. 192 of 2015
Justice V. Gopala Gowda · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

The appellant, a "station writer" at the Fort Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram, was accused of demanding Rs. 1,500 as a bribe from the complainant for releasing articles held in police custody. He was convicted by the Special Judge, Thiruvananthapuram under Section 13(1)(d) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and sentenced to one year's rigorous imprisonment with a fine; the Kerala High Court partly allowed his appeal but upheld the conviction. He then appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court scrutinised the prosecution's trap evidence, including the phenolphthalein chemical test used to detect handling of the marked bribe money, and found serious inconsistencies: the solution used on the appellant's hands did not retain the tell-tale pink colour that the other control samples showed, and no colour change was found on the shirt pocket where the money was allegedly kept. Relying on settled precedent that mere possession/recovery of currency notes, without proof of an actual demand and voluntary acceptance of a bribe, cannot sustain a conviction under the Act, the Court held that the prosecution had failed to prove the demand and acceptance of illegal gratification beyond reasonable doubt. It accordingly allowed the appeal, set aside the conviction and sentence, and directed the appellant's immediate release.

Lesson Learnt

In bribery prosecutions, simply recovering marked currency from an accused is not enough to convict: the prosecution must also convincingly prove an actual demand for the bribe and its voluntary acceptance, and scientific test results (like the phenolphthalein test) must be internally consistent to be relied upon as proof.

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

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