In Brief
A Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Labour was convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹3,000 for processing contractor licences. Following an ACB trap operation, tainted currency was recovered from his office drawer. The Trial Court acquitted him, finding insufficient proof of demand and acceptance. The High Court reversed the acquittal and convicted him. The Supreme Court set aside the conviction, holding that mere recovery of tainted money, without corroborating evidence of a clear demand and voluntary acceptance, cannot sustain conviction. The Court found material contradictions in prosecution evidence, procedural lapses in trap proceedings, and credible defence witnesses supporting the accused's explanation that the money was planted during his absence. The acquittal was restored.
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