In Brief
A government engineer was accused of demanding and accepting Rs. 5,000 as a bribe from a retiring colleague for processing his pension papers. A lower court acquitted him, but the High Court reversed the acquittal and convicted him under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and reinstated the acquittal. The court held that the prosecution failed to prove the essential element of demand of illegal gratification; evidence showed the accused was in Bangalore attending a seminar on the date the bribe was allegedly demanded, and the only eyewitness stated the money was repayment for diesel, not a bribe. Mere recovery of money without proof of demand and voluntary acceptance as gratification is insufficient for conviction.
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