The intercepted calls were found to be inadmissible and lacking corroboration by scientific evidence, leading to the acquittal of the appellants.

SUNIL GAUR, J.

1. The above captioned six appeals arise out of trial court's judgment of 7th May, 2018, vide which appellants- Jaibir Singh Sherawat, Piyush Goel, Virender Pal, Umesh Prashar, Mukesh Gupta and Suresh Kumar Lakra have been held guilty for the offences under Sections 7, 12 & 13(1) (d) r/w Section 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (henceforth referred to as the "PC Act") and Section 120B IPC. Vide impugned order of 9th May, 2019, these six appellants have been sentenced as under:-

S. No	Name of accused	Offences punishable	Sentence Awarded	Fine imposed	Sentence in default of fine
1.	Jaibir Singh Sehrawat @ Jaibir Sehrawat	u/s 120B IPC r/w Sec. 7,12 & 13(1) (d) & Sec. 13(2) of PC Act u/S 7 of PC Act u/S 13(1) (d) r/w Sec. 13(2) of PC Act	5 Years 5 Years 5 years	Rs. 20,000/- Rs. 20,000/- Rs. 20,000/-	02 months 02 months 02 months
2.	Piyush Goel	u/s 120B IPC r/w Sec. 7, 12 & 13(1) (d) & Sec. 13(2) of PC Act. u/S 12 of PC Act	5 Years 5 Years	Rs.50,000/- Rs.50,000/-	05 months 05 months
3.	Virender Pal	u/s 120B IPC r/w Sec. 7,12 & 13(1) (d) & Sec. 13(2) of PC Act u/S 7 of PC Act u/S 13(1) (d) r/w Sec. 13(2) of PC Act	3 Years 3 Years	Rs.10,000/- Rs.10,000/- Rs.10,000/-	01 month 01 month 01 month
4.	Umesh Prashar	u/s 120B IPC r/w Sec. 7,12 & 13(1) (d) & Sec. 13(2) of PC Act.	03 Years	Rs.1,00,000/-	06 months
5.	Mukesh Gupta	u/s 120B IPC r/w Sec. 7,12 & 13(1) (d) & Sec. 13(2) of PC Act	03 Years	Rs.1,00,000/-	06 months
6.	Suresh Kumar Lakra	u/s 120B IPC r/w Sec. 7,12 & 13(1) (d) & Sec. 13(2) of PC Act u/S 7 of PC Act u/S 13(1) (d) r/wSec.13(2) of PC Act	5 Years 5 Years 5 Years	Rs.20,000/- Rs.20,000/- Rs.20,000/-	02 months 02 months 02 months

2. The factual background of this case, emerging from the impugned judgment, is as under:-

"This FIR was registered on the allegations that during the period Nov.-Dec., 2008, certain officials of Municipal Corporation Delhi (MCD) (i.e. A-1 to A-4) while working in MCD, Karol Bagh Zone, New Delhi, entered into a criminal conspiracy amongst themselves and with one Mukesh (A-6), a middleman and Piyush Goel (A-5). In furtherance of said conspiracy, the officials of MCD demanded and accepted illegal gratification to the tune of Rs.17 lakhs from Piyush Goel (A-6).

It was also alleged that the said officials of MCD and middlemen, are running a racket to extract money from various building owners in Karol Bagh, New Delhi area in lieu of inaction against illegal construction etc. The modus-operandi adopted is in that they permit unauthorized construction, allow illegal commercial activities in residential areas, facilitate de-sealing of earlier sealed properties etc., in lieu of illegal gratification. They serve genuine & bogus show cause notices on various building owners and raise vague queries in order to cast an impression that the property is vulnerable to sealing and demolition by the MCD. They also resort to bogus sealing to threaten & terrorise the owners of buildings. Thus, by threatening the party they negotiate the bribe amount which is demanded and collected by the MCD officials either directly or through middlemen. The bribe amount is subsequently distributed amongst themselves.

It was alleged that during the period Nov.-Dec., 2008, Jaibir Sherawat, Umesh Parashar, Virender Pal in conspiracy with each other, demanded directly as well as through Mukesh, a bribe of Rs.37 lakh from one Piyush Goel to allow unauthorized construction at property bearing No.13/28, WEA, Karol Bagh, New Delhi. Out of Rs.37 lakhs, amount of Rs.17 lakhs was demanded and accepted by the them as illegal gratification for the lower floor. The remaining amount of Rs.20 lakhs was demanded for the shops at the upper floor @Rs.1