In Brief
A Junior Overseer at a Municipal Corporation was convicted of accepting a Rs. 1,000 bribe from a citizen seeking a certified copy of a sanctioned map under the Right to Information Act. The trial court acquitted him, but the High Court reversed the acquittal and found him guilty under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's conviction, holding that the prosecution conclusively proved the appellant demanded and received the bribe through credible eyewitness testimony, trap proceedings, recovery of marked currency notes bearing phenolphthalein traces, and seizure of the relevant file from his residence. The appellant's role in file processing was established by testimony, contradicting his defence that he had no official involvement.
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