In Brief
A Sanitary Inspector was charged with demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs. 500 and a mobile phone. The trial court acquitted him; the High Court reversed this and convicted him under Sections 7, 13(2), and 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that the High Court erred in not determining whether the trial court's acquittal was based on a "possible view" of the evidence. The Court found material contradictions in witness testimony, inordinate delay in testing for fingerprints, and absence of credible proof of demand and acceptance of the bribe. The acquittal was a reasonably possible conclusion and should not have been disturbed.
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