- Supreme Court acquitted two Gujarat government employees in a Rs 20 bribe case
- The case began in 1996 over an alleged bribe demand for an income certificate
- The court stated that conviction cannot be sustained based on recovery without proof of demand
A legal battle over an alleged bribe of Rs 20 has ended after three decades, with the Supreme Court setting aside the conviction of two Gujarat government employees.
A bench comprising Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S Chandurkar acquitted a clerk and a peon, stating that the conviction cannot be sustained solely based on the recovery of Rs 20 without it being proven that they had demanded a bribe.
The case dates back to February 1996. A student had approached the Bechari Gram Panchayat office in Anand district to obtain an income certificate to avail educational concessions.
The prosecution had alleged that the clerk had demanded Rs 120 to issue the certificate -- Rs 100 for himself and Rs 20 for the peon.
Subsequently, the student lodged a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which then laid a trap and sent the student with marked notes of Rs 120.
After receiving the certificate, the student had given Rs 20 to the peon. The raiding team recovered the same notes from the peon, but Rs 100 was not found with the clerk.
The Supreme Court also found inconsistencies in the prosecution's claims, noting that the student had given a different statement regarding the alleged demand in a separate matter.
In that instance, he had stated that the accused had initially demanded Rs 200 and later reached a settlement at Rs 120, a claim that was not part of his testimony before the trial court.
The top court also considered it significant that the ACB had instructed the student to hand over the full Rs 120 if a demand was made. Despite this, he had given only Rs 20 to the peon.
A doubt also emerged as to why the remaining amount was not paid despite the clerk being right next to the peon when he had paid him the alleged Rs 20 bribe.
During cross-examination, the student also admitted that the peon himself had not demanded any bribe from him.
The bench also observed that the student had handed over Rs 20 to the people only after receiving the income certificate. The court found that the circumstances cast serious doubt on the version of events presented by the prosecution.
Citing the issue of the legal presumption under Section 20 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the court stated that since the initial demand itself was not proven, the mere recovery of Rs 20 from the peon does not support the prosecution's case.
The court also found the peon's claim that the student had given him Rs 20 since it was Eid the next day to be more reasonable.
The court also found that the sanction to prosecute the clerk was invalid since an unauthorised officer granted it.
The Supreme Court eventually set aside the judgments of the trial court and the Gujarat High Court and acquitted the two accused.
