Convicted twenty years in the past for allegedly taking bribe, SC acquits workplace assist   

By PTI

NEW DELHI: A cleaner, who labored within the workplace of a civil surgeon in Punjab, was on Thursday acquitted by the Supreme Court of the costs of allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 300 twenty years in the past for getting ready a dying certificates.

The high court docket acquitted Jagtar Singh (65), who was convicted by the trial court docket in 2005 for offences beneath the Prevention of Corruption Act and awarded one-year imprisonment.

On March 2, 2010, the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld his conviction and sentence.

The attraction remained pending earlier than the highest court docket for 13 years.

A bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Rajesh Bindal, acquitted Singh, who was 45 years outdated when he was booked for the offence of accepting a bribe and put aside the orders of the excessive court docket and the trial court docket.

“The trial court docket had particularly held that there is no such thing as a proof produced on file to show the demand of unlawful gratification.

It is just not the case during which the demand was reiterated when the cash was allegedly paid to him…The High Court has handed its judgment on the belief that the cash having been recovered from the appellant, there was a requirement for unlawful gratification.

This is just not a case the place there was circumstantial proof to show the demand,” the bench mentioned.

Advocate Gagan Gupta, who appeared for Singh, mentioned he was granted bail in 2008 however in complete he had served 38 days in jail.

“He retired from the government job in 2016, with a stigma,” he mentioned.

The bench held that Singh’s judgment can’t be sustained in view of the legislation laid down by the 2022 structure bench verdict within the case of Neeraj Dutta versus the Government of NCT Delhi, the place it was held that the demand and restoration each should be proved to maintain a conviction beneath the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The bench famous that within the case, complainant Jit Singh in addition to Chamkur Singh, an ex-village panchayat member, who was made shadow prosecution had turned hostile within the trial court docket.

A shadow witness is one who accompanies the complainant in plain garments to the general public servant searching for a bribe, to witness the transaction of bribery and to provide a pre-determined sign to the raiding social gathering.

Counsel for the Punjab authorities had submitted that the phenolphthalein-coated foreign money notes with the identical serial numbers had been recovered from Singh within the presence of impartial witnesses.

The counsel had mentioned throughout arguments that inference could be drawn that there was demand and that’s the reason Singh accepted the unlawful gratification, therefore, his conviction deserves to be upheld.

Gupta on different hand had contended, on the most, it may be mentioned that restoration has been proved although that can also be significantly uncertain and there’s no proof of demand of unlawful gratification.

According to the grievance, it was alleged that for getting the dying certificates of Maghar Singh, who expired on March 6, 2003, Ranjit Singh, his son, requested his cousin Jit Singh to gather the identical.

On October 17, 2003, Jit Singh met Jagtar Singh in reference to the availability of a dying certificates, however the latter demanded Rs 500, as unlawful gratification.

The grievance mentioned that the ultimate settlement was arrived at for fee of Rs 300 by Jit Singh.

Since Jit Singh was reluctant to pay the unlawful gratification, he contacted Chamkaur Singh and on his suggestion went to the workplace of DSP, Vigilance at Faridkot and acquired his assertion recorded, on the idea of which FIR was registered.

The complainant handed over three foreign money notes of Rs 100 every to the DSP, Vigilance, who after coating the identical with phenolphthalein powder recorded their numbers within the memo and handed over the identical once more to Jit Singh.

Chamkaur Singh was made the shadow witness.

Police claimed that Jagtar Singh was alleged that the appellant was arrested red-handed whereas accepting the unlawful gratification.

During the trial, each Jit and Chamkaur Singh didn’t help the prosecution model and had been declared hostile.

Usha Kumari, who labored as a pc operator within the workplace of the civil surgeon, deposed that Jagtar Singh was working within the workplace as a cleaner.

She had deposed that in emergency Jagtar Singh was additionally was once deputed for discharging different duties additionally together with getting ready dying certificates.

Kumari had advised the court docket that the dying certificates in query was ready on October 17, 2003, and Jagtar Singh was deputed to organize the dying certificates on October 20, 2003.

She had mentioned the dying certificates had been ready previous to the date on which Jagtar Singh was assigned the obligation to organize the dying certificates.

NEW DELHI: A cleaner, who labored within the workplace of a civil surgeon in Punjab, was on Thursday acquitted by the Supreme Court of the costs of allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 300 twenty years in the past for getting ready a dying certificates.

The high court docket acquitted Jagtar Singh (65), who was convicted by the trial court docket in 2005 for offences beneath the Prevention of Corruption Act and awarded one-year imprisonment.

On March 2, 2010, the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld his conviction and sentence.googletag.cmd.push(operate() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );

The attraction remained pending earlier than the highest court docket for 13 years.

A bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Rajesh Bindal, acquitted Singh, who was 45 years outdated when he was booked for the offence of accepting a bribe and put aside the orders of the excessive court docket and the trial court docket.

“The trial court docket had particularly held that there is no such thing as a proof produced on file to show the demand of unlawful gratification.

It is just not the case during which the demand was reiterated when the cash was allegedly paid to him…The High Court has handed its judgment on the belief that the cash having been recovered from the appellant, there was a requirement for unlawful gratification.

This is just not a case the place there was circumstantial proof to show the demand,” the bench mentioned.

Advocate Gagan Gupta, who appeared for Singh, mentioned he was granted bail in 2008 however in complete he had served 38 days in jail.

“He retired from the government job in 2016, with a stigma,” he mentioned.

The bench held that Singh’s judgment can’t be sustained in view of the legislation laid down by the 2022 structure bench verdict within the case of Neeraj Dutta versus the Government of NCT Delhi, the place it was held that the demand and restoration each should be proved to maintain a conviction beneath the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The bench famous that within the case, complainant Jit Singh in addition to Chamkur Singh, an ex-village panchayat member, who was made shadow prosecution had turned hostile within the trial court docket.

A shadow witness is one who accompanies the complainant in plain garments to the general public servant searching for a bribe, to witness the transaction of bribery and to provide a pre-determined sign to the raiding social gathering.

Counsel for the Punjab authorities had submitted that the phenolphthalein-coated foreign money notes with the identical serial numbers had been recovered from Singh within the presence of impartial witnesses.

The counsel had mentioned throughout arguments that inference could be drawn that there was demand and that’s the reason Singh accepted the unlawful gratification, therefore, his conviction deserves to be upheld.

Gupta on different hand had contended, on the most, it may be mentioned that restoration has been proved although that can also be significantly uncertain and there’s no proof of demand of unlawful gratification.

According to the grievance, it was alleged that for getting the dying certificates of Maghar Singh, who expired on March 6, 2003, Ranjit Singh, his son, requested his cousin Jit Singh to gather the identical.

On October 17, 2003, Jit Singh met Jagtar Singh in reference to the availability of a dying certificates, however the latter demanded Rs 500, as unlawful gratification.

The grievance mentioned that the ultimate settlement was arrived at for fee of Rs 300 by Jit Singh.

Since Jit Singh was reluctant to pay the unlawful gratification, he contacted Chamkaur Singh and on his suggestion went to the workplace of DSP, Vigilance at Faridkot and acquired his assertion recorded, on the idea of which FIR was registered.

The complainant handed over three foreign money notes of Rs 100 every to the DSP, Vigilance, who after coating the identical with phenolphthalein powder recorded their numbers within the memo and handed over the identical once more to Jit Singh.

Chamkaur Singh was made the shadow witness.

Police claimed that Jagtar Singh was alleged that the appellant was arrested red-handed whereas accepting the unlawful gratification.

During the trial, each Jit and Chamkaur Singh didn’t help the prosecution model and had been declared hostile.

Usha Kumari, who labored as a pc operator within the workplace of the civil surgeon, deposed that Jagtar Singh was working within the workplace as a cleaner.

She had deposed that in emergency Jagtar Singh was additionally was once deputed for discharging different duties additionally together with getting ready dying certificates.

Kumari had advised the court docket that the dying certificates in query was ready on October 17, 2003, and Jagtar Singh was deputed to organize the dying certificates on October 20, 2003.

She had mentioned the dying certificates had been ready previous to the date on which Jagtar Singh was assigned the obligation to organize the dying certificates.