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Raj Bahadur Singh v. State of Uttarakhand

Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 239Decided 13 Mar 2026
Crl.A. No.-001105-001105 - 2013
Justice Pankaj Mithal · Justice Prasanna B. Varale · Justice Dipankar Datta

Background

The appellant, a Constable in the Excise Department in Uttarakhand, was accused of demanding Rs. 500 as a bribe from a complainant (who ran a contraband liquor business) in exchange for not forwarding a case against him to court. A trap was organised by the Vigilance police, tainted currency notes were recovered from the appellant, and a chemical test confirmed he had handled them. He was convicted by the trial court under Sections 7 and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Uttarakhand High Court upheld the conviction, so he appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court upheld the conviction, rejecting the appellant's arguments that the complainant had a motive to falsely implicate him, that there were contradictions in witness testimony, that he was denied a chance to examine himself as a defence witness, and that the currency notes were never produced in court (a point raised for the first time only orally before the Supreme Court, and thus not entertained). The Court found the trial court and High Court had correctly appreciated the evidence, including the panchnama record of the currency notes being handed over and the appellant's hands testing positive for phenolphthalein powder. However, considering the appellant's advanced age (approximately 75 at the time of the appeal, roughly 40 at the time of the offence) and that he had already spent about two months and 24 days in custody, the Court modified the sentence downward to the statutory minimum, six months' rigorous imprisonment under Section 7 and one year under Section 13(2), while keeping the conviction intact.

Lesson Learnt

Appellate courts can affirm a conviction on the strength of trial evidence (such as a trap panchnama and chemical corroboration) while still exercising discretion to reduce a sentence to the statutory minimum in light of a convict's advanced age and time already served; and a factual defence not raised before any lower court cannot be introduced for the first time as an oral argument before the Supreme Court.

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

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