The central legal point established in the judgment is the requirement to prove the demand and acceptance of illegal gratification, the burden of proof under Section 20 of the P.C. Act, and the need for reliable evidence to establish the guilt of the accused.

JUDGMENT :

MANOJ KUMAR OHRI, J.

1. This appeal is directed against the judgment dated 04.02.2013 passed by the Special Judge, CBI-01, Central District, Delhi in CC No. 20/08 in RC 21(A)/06 whereby the appellant was convicted for the offence punishable under Section 7 & 13(1)(d) read with 13(2) of P.C. Act, 1988. Further, vide order dated 05.02.2013, the appellant was sentenced to undergo RI for 3 years for the offence punishable under Section 7 along with fine of Rs.1 lac in default whereof to undergo SI for three months. He was also sentenced to undergo RI for 3 years under Section 13(1) (d) read with 13(2) of the P.C. Act along with fine of Rs.1 lac in default whereof to undergo SI for three months.

2. The facts which are necessary for the disposal of this appeal, as noted by the trial court, are as follows: -

“1. Executive Engineer, CD-IV, CPWD Pusa had invited tenders for construction of shed for diesel generator for KAB-I building, Pusa, New Delhi. Tenders were opened and complainant Ajit Singh Yadav was called for negotiations by the accused who was Executive Engineer in the last week of May 2006. Instead of awarding the contract to the complainant whose bid was lowest, he demanded bribe of 2% of the accepted tender value which was approximately Rs.7,000/-. Accused told the complainant that in case money is paid, work would be awarded otherwise tender would be cancelled and fresh tender will be called for. Complainant then lodged a complaint on the basis of which instant FIR no. RC-DAI-2006-A-0021 was registered and was entrusted to N.V.N. Krishnan for investigation and laying of the trap.

2. A trap team constituting of officers of CBI and two independent witnesses from NCCF, Nehru Place was constituted. Complainant was introduced to the team members who satisfied themselves about genuineness of the complaint. Complainant also produced Rs. 7,000/-. Their numbers were noted down. Phenolphthalein powder was applied to the currency notes and independent witness Gurender Pal Singh gave demonstration by touching the notes with his fingers and thereafter dipping his fingers in solution of sodium carbonate. Digital voice recorder was called for. Formal voices of the independent witnesses was recorded therein and it was handed over to the complainant with directions to switch it on before contacting the accused. A KCR-360 with TDK-D-60 audio cassette along with credit card transmitter was arranged to overhear the conversation which may take place between accused and the complainant. Complainant also informed the CBI officials that accused would not accept bribe in presence of third person. It was decided not to send a shadow witness along with the complainant.

3. The team reached near office of the accused at about 12.25 hours. Complainant was directed to contact the accused, while independent witness Ram Swaroop Yadav was to discretely follow the complainant. Complainant went inside chamber of the accused while shadow witness stood outside. After about 5-10 minutes complainant came out and gave pre decided signal. Inspector Prem Nath who was overhearing the conversation also informed about the completion of the bribe transaction. Shadow witness also gave the signal and the team members rushed inside. Accused was found sitting on his chair. Upon being challenged about accepting the bribe, he kept silent and then admitted the acceptance. He was caught from his both wrists. Colourless solution of sodium carbonate was prepared. Accused dipped his fingers of both hands one by one. On each occasion, solution turned pink. It was poured into clean glass bottles, wrapped and labeled as RHW and LHW. The bribe amount was recovered lying on a towel spread on chair of the accused. Their numbers were tallied. Portion of the towel was also dipped in colourless solution of sodium carbonate which turned pink again. It was poured into glass bottle and labeled as TW. Pant of the accused was got removed. Rear left side of the pant was dipped in another