2026:CGHC:8711 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR Digitally signed by ALOK ALOK SHARMA SHARMA D 20 a 2 te 6 : .02.20

10:15:22 +0530 ACQA No. 533 of 2024

1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Police Station- E O W / A C B, Unit Raipur, District- Raipur, Chhattisgarh ... Appellant(s)

versus

1 - Laxminarayan Banchhor S/o Late Shri Ramadhin Banchhor Aged About 48 Years R/o Ward No. 15, Nagar Palika Road, Shantinagar, Bhilai, District- Durg, Chhattisgarh 2 - Janardan Upadhyay S/o Late Shri Rudrprasad Upadhyay Aged About 45 Years R/o Near National School, Santoshipara, Police Station- Chhawni, Bhilai, District- Durg, Chhattisgarh.

... Respondent(s)

For Appellant/State : Ms. Supriya Upasane, Govt. Advocate.

For Respondent : Mr. Mayank Mulchandani, Advocate.

Hon'ble Shr i Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, J.

Judgment on Board

18/02/2026

1. The present acquittal appeal has been filed by the appellant/State under Section 378(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 against the impugned judgment of acquittal dated 12.03.2018 passed by learned Special Judge (Prevention of Corruption) Durg in Special Criminal Case No. 05/2016, whereby the respondent accused persons have been acquitted from the offence of Section 7 and 13(1)(D) read with Section 13(2) of Cr.P.C. of the Prevention of Corruption, 1988.

2. The brief facts of the case are that the complainant Avinash Dewangan PW-5 was intended to set up Fly As Bricks Factory at village Telgundra, Tahsil Patan, District Durg and for the electric connection he approached the electricity office at Patan. The respondent accused No.1 Laxminarayna Banchhor was the junior engineer at Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL) at Patan who demanded Rs. 1 lakh as illegal gratification and then only file would be forwarded. Since the complainant was not intended to give any bribe to the respondent accused persons, he made a complaint on 08.03.2016 to Anti Corruption Bureau, Raipur. The complainant was provided a digital voice recorder to get conversation between him and the accused recorded with respect to the illegal demand. On 11.03.2016, he again came to the office of Anti Corruption Bureau and handed over the digital voice recorder to the officers of Anti Corruption Bureau and, thereafter, a trap party was constituted consists with B. K. Tiwari, D. S. Parihar, Navneet Patil, Lambodhar Patel, Shivsharan Sahu, Rampravesh Mishra, Santosh Sahu, Gyanvas Barle, Chandraprakash Sahu, the shadow witnesses Brijbhushan Goutam and Dayaram Soni were also the member of the trap party who were informed about the demand made by the accused persons. On 11.03.2016 at about 09:00 am, after satisfying from the complaint made by the complainant, unnumbered FIR has been registered and trap party started their proceedings. After the preparation of various panchnamas, applying phenopthelene powder over the currency notes and drawing the pre-trap proceedings and panchnama they proceeded towards the place of incident. The trap party went to the office of the respondent accused and after completion of transaction between the complainant and the accused persons, since the respondent accused were not there they called him to another place at village Telgundra. When the trap party had gone to the place where the complainant was called by the accused persons, the respondent accused have also been came there and as and when the complainant handed over the tainted currency notes to the accused Laxminarayan he handed over the said tainted currency notes to the respondent No.2 accused/Janardan Upadhyay who kept his in his right pocket of full pant and about to return back. At the same time the complainant made gesture about completion of transaction and then trap party intersected them and on being searched the tainted currency notes were recovered from the right pocket of full pant the respondent No.2 accused Janardan Upadhyay their handwash turned into pink colour and after recovery and seizure of the tainted curr