In Brief
A patwari (village revenue officer) was accused of demanding a bribe of Rs 2,800 for issuing domicile and OBC certificates. The Special Judge framed charges under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The High Court, in revision, discharged the accused after analyzing the conversation transcript in detail and concluding no case was made out. The Supreme Court held the High Court erred by conducting a "mini trial" at the discharge stage, examining evidence on merits rather than merely assessing prima facie grounds. The Court ruled that charge-framing requires only face-value evaluation of prosecution material for existence of offence ingredients, not conviction-level proof. The Court quashed the High Court's order and restored the charges for trial.
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