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Dileepbhai Nanubhai Sanghani v. State of Gujarat

Criminal Appeal · 2025 INSC 280Decided 27 Feb 2025
Crl.A. No.-000972-000972 - 2025 (@ S.L.P.(Crl.) Diary No. 46289/2024)
Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia · Justice K. Vinod Chandran

Background

The appellant, a former Minister in the Gujarat government, was accused (as Accused No. 2) under the Prevention of Corruption Act along with several others of allocating fishing contracts in state reservoirs without following the required tender process, allegedly to obtain illegal gratification. A fish trader who wanted to bid through the proper tender process had complained, leading the High Court to earlier cancel the illegal allotments and direct a proper tender process; a corruption case then followed, and the appellant's application to be discharged from the case was rejected by the trial court and by the Gujarat High Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court reviewed the investigation report, the pre-charge statements of the complainant and police officers, and all other material on record, and found that while there were allegations of a demand for bribes against the first accused (a different Minister), there was not even a single allegation, let alone evidence, of any demand or acceptance of illegal gratification specifically by the appellant. Since a demand and acceptance of bribe is an essential ingredient for an offence under the Act, and the presumption of corruption cannot arise from mere administrative decision-making without proof of that demand, the Court held the discharge application should have been allowed as against the appellant. It clarified that its observations were confined to the appellant and would not affect the ongoing case against the first accused.

Lesson Learnt

Being part of a government decision that is later found improper or even benefits others financially does not, by itself, establish a corruption offence. The prosecution must show concrete evidence of a demand for and acceptance of a bribe by that specific individual, and courts can quash proceedings at the discharge stage when that basic ingredient is entirely missing from the record.

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

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