KAN SINGH, J.—Appellant Mithanlal who was convicted by the Special Judge, Gangapur, for an offence under sec. 161 IPC and sentenced to six months rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 200 and in default further rigorous imprisonment for three months by his judgment dated the 10th January, 1965, has lodged this appeal.

2. Accused Mithanlal was a Patwari in the Revenue Department and was posted at village Senka in the month of July, 1963. It was alleged against him that he demanded a bribe of Rs. 100 from one Kirori Mina of Santha who wanted to have certified copies of Khasra entries in connection with a suit instituted by one Mst. Sukli in the court of the Munsiff, Hindaun. Kirori paid Rs. 50 to the accused expressing his inability to produce Rs. 100 at the time. He promised to pay the balance on the following day. Kirori, however, did not want to pay this amount and accordingly he apprised Shri Rajpalsing, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Anti Corruption Department, Bharatpur, of the bribe that the accused had demanded from him. The Deputy Superintendent of Police then devised a trap and initialled currency notes of the value of Rs. 50 and asked Kirori to give them to the accused if he demanded them. The numbers of the currency notes were noted by the Deputy Superintendent of Police in a list in the presence of Motbirs. Kirori accompanied by the members of the raid party who remained at some distance then went to the house of the accused. While Kirori entered the room where the accused was sitting, the Motbirs and other members of the raid party kept outside the room. Kirori then passed on the currency notes to Mithanlal who took them into his hand and then put them into the pocket of his shirt and started preparing copies of the entries. Thereafter Kirori lighted a bidi which was the pre-arranged signal for the raid party. On receiving this signal, the raid party entered the room and the Deputy Superintendent recovered the currency notes that he had seized earlier from the person of the accused. After obtaining the sanction for prosecuting the accused from the Collector of Sawai Madhopur, a challan was put up against the accused in the court of Special Judge, Gangapur. As a result of the trial, the accused was convicted and sentenced as mentioned at the outset.

3. From what immediately follows, it will not be necessary for me to refer to the evidence about the offence. Learned counsel for the appellant has questioned the legality of the proceedings on the ground that the sanction for prosecution that is said to have been accorded by the Collector was not valid. The order of sanction that has been placed on the record is Ex. P-4. It ran as follows—

"Office of the Collector Sawai Madhopur.

No.........

Dated.........

SANCTION FOR PROSECUTION

Whereas it has been reported to me that Shri Mithanlal, while functioning as Patwari Haloa Santha, Tehsil Mahwa, District Sawai Modhopur demanded and accepted Rs. 50/-on 9-7-68 at his residence from Shri Kirori S/o Teja Meena r/o village Santha as bribe for giving him copies of the Khasra Girdawari (Nakal Intakhal) in the name of Mst. Sukhi, and that the said amount was obtained and accepted by the said Shri Mithanlal patwari by illegal means and by abusing his official position as a public servant, and the said amount so accepted by him as illegal gratification was also recovered from the possession of the said Shri Mithanlal Patwari in the presence of motbirs; and Whereas from the perusal of the facts on record of case No. 53 of 1963 of C. P. S. Anti-Corruption Department, Jaipur, I am satisfied that there is a prima facie case against Shri Mithanlal Patwari of committing offences u/s 161 I. P. C. and 5(l)(d)(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act;

Now, therefore, in pursuance of section 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, I.D.C. Joseph, Collector, Sawai Madhopur, being the authority competent to remove Shri Mithanlal Patwari from service, do hereby accord sanction for prosecution of th

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