JUDGMENT

B. P. DAS, J. — This appeal is directed against an order passed by the learned Special Judge, Bhubaneswar in T. R. Case No. 16 of 1985 convicting the appellant for the offences punisha¬ble under Sec. 161 of the I.P.C. and Section 5 (1)(d) read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 (here-in-after referred to as the ‘Act’) and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/- in default, to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for six months under Sec. 5(1)(d) read with Section 5(2) of the Preven¬tion of Corruption Act. However, considering the ingredient of Section 161, I.P.C. and parallel provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, no separate sentence has been awarded.

2. The case of the prosecution in short is as follows :

The appellant was a public servant and while posted as the Officer-in-charge of Gangapur Police Station, in the district of Ganjam, on 18.10.1983, at about 10. P.M., he found that one Simachal Biswal, who subsequently became the informant and decoy in the present case and his friends were gambling in the village. The said Simachal Biswal was apprehended by the present appellant on the allegation of gambling and a case was registered under Section 3 of the Orissa Prevention of Gambling Act. It is further alleged that the present appellant threatened the accused Simachal Biswal to put him in the lock up at the police station but after a lot of persuasion, the appellant allowed him to go with direc¬tion to come to the police station along with his friends on the following day. Accordingly, Simachal Biswal along with his friends went to the police station on 19.10.1983 in the morning and there the present appellant demanded Rs. 300/- from him as illegal gratification by giving him to understand that he would be released and shall not be taken into custody. Finding no other way out, Simachal Biswal (P.W.1) negotiated with the appellant who reduced his demand to Rs. 250/- which was agreed to be paid on the date fixed with the promise from the appellant that he would help him in the case instituted under Sec. 3 of the O.P.G.Act. Accordingly, one Jayaram Khatei (P.W.2) stood as surety in the police station for P.W.1, Bipra Ch. Dakua and Gopinath Swain who were released on bail. After being released, P.W.1 and other villagers while returning to their village, decided to bring the fact of demand of illegal gratification by the appellant to the notice of the Vigilance Department. Accord¬ingly, on 22.10.1983 at 2.30 P.M. a written report was presented by P.W.1 before the Superintendent of Police, Vigilance, Berham¬pur, who directed the O.I.C., Vigilance P.S. Berhampur to regis¬ter a case against the appellant. Inspector P.K. Sahu of Special Squad was directed to lay a trap and to investigate the case. On the same day at 4.30 P.M. a demonstration showing the formalities of the trap was made by the I.O. in presence of two Gazetted Officers, P.W.1 and the over-hearing witness P.W.2. In presence of all the trap party members, the informant narrated his griev¬ances. Use of phenolphthalein powder and its chemical reaction with sodium carbonate solution was shown to the trap party mem¬bers. The sodium carbonate solution, which is absolutely trans¬parent in its appearance, turned pink when it came in contact with phenolphthalein powder. Thereafter, P.W.1 gave two hundred rupee and one fifty rupee currency notes, the numbers of which were noted by the Gazetted Officers in two separate sheets of papers independently kept and both of them put their secret initials over the notes in question. The said currency notes were treated with phenolphthalein powder and were handed over to Sri Suresh Chandra Panda, Asst. Settlement Officer (P.W.11) who after handling the notes washed his hand with sodium carbonate solu¬tion, the colour of which became pink rose. The notes were then handed over to P.W.1 with the instruction that he will hand over the same to the a