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Central Bureau of Investigation v. Baljeet Singh

Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 221Decided 10 Mar 2026
Crl.A. No.-001488 - 2026
Justice Sanjay Kumar · Justice K. Vinod Chandran

Background

An Income Tax Inspector (A2) and his superior, an Assessing Officer (A1), were alleged to have demanded a Rs.5 lakh bribe from a complainant (a firm's partner) in exchange for finalising a pending tax assessment. The complainant approached the CBI, which laid a trap: marked, phenolphthalein-powder-coated currency notes were handed over to A2 by the complainant in the presence of independent witnesses, and A2 was caught with the tainted money in his coat pocket, with his hands turning pink on chemical testing. The Trial Court convicted both accused, but the High Court acquitted both, finding no proof of a conspiracy between them and no clear proof of a bribe demand, prompting the CBI's appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's acquittal of A1 (the Assessing Officer), agreeing that the only evidence against him was the complainant's account of a demand supposedly made by A2 "on behalf of" A1, which as an uncorroborated statement implicating a co-accused could not sustain a conviction, and that no independent conspiracy under Section 120B IPC was established. However, the Court set aside the acquittal of A2 (the Inspector, respondent Baljeet Singh), finding that the demand and acceptance of the bribe were fully corroborated by the complainant's testimony, the Trap Laying Officer, and two independent witnesses, along with physical evidence including the recovered marked notes and the pink-tinted chemical wash of A2's hands. The Court restored A2's conviction under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act as originally handed down by the Trial Court, but modified his sentence from four years' rigorous imprisonment to one year (considering his age), retaining the Rs.1 lakh fine, and directed him to surrender within four weeks.

Lesson Learnt

A bribery conviction can rest firmly on the corroborated evidence of a trap operation (the complainant's account, independent witnesses, and forensic proof like the phenolphthalein test) even without independent corroboration from every raiding party member, but a co-accused's implication of another based only on a third party's uncorroborated say-so cannot by itself sustain that other person's conviction.

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

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