- (1.) This is a criminal appeal against the judgement and order dated 14-10-1981 passed by Sri. N. S. Gahlaut, the then VIth Addl. District and Sessions Judge, Allahabad in Criminal Case No. 3 of 1980, State v. Ganga Prasad, whereby he convicted the accused appellant for the offence under Section 161 C.P.C. and sentenced him to undergo one year's R. I. and further convicted him for the offence under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sentenced him to undergo 11/2 years' R. I. Both these sentences were made to run concurrently.
(2.) I have heard learned counsel for the parties and have also gone through the record. There is no substance in this appeal.
(3.) Accused-appellant Ganga Prasad was posted as tube-well operator on a government tube-well situated in village Manethu, police station Tharwai, district Allahabad since 3 and 4 years prior to the date of incident i.e. 17-12-77. The fields of Raja Ram complainant, r/o of that village, are within the command of this tube-well. It was the duty of the accused-appellant to supply water to the fields within the command of this tube-well including the fieldsof Raja Ram. The prosecution case was that the accused-appellant used to take bribe from the persons whose plots were outside the command area of the tube-well and used to irrigate their fields. There was potato crop in the agricultural field of the complainant but the same was dried out due to the failure of the accused-appellant to supply water from the tube-well to those fields. On 14-12-77 the complainant met Ganga Prasad accused-appellant at 8.30 a.m. at the house of Ram Autar, where he used to live. Thereupon, the accused-applicant demanded bribe of Rs. 60.00 from him for supplying water from the tube-well. Since the complainant did not want to give bribe he moved application (Ex. Ka-1) before the District Magistrate Sri Bhure Lal for ordering trap of the accused-appellant. The then District Magistrate Sri Bhure Lal directed Deputy Superintendent of Police Vigilance taking necessary action for laying the trap Raja Ram along with his teacher collegue Raj Narain went to the office of the Vigilance Department on 15-12-77 and handed over the application containing the order of the District Magistrate to Sri Sheo Vijai Singh. Deputy Superintendent of Police Vigilance. The statement of the complainant was recorded by Sri Ayodhya Prasad Tripathi, Inspector, Vigilance, which was Ex. Ka. 2. The complainant then showed the currency notes, one of Rs. 50.00 and another of Rs. 10.00 (Ex. 3 and 4) and gave them to the Deputy of Superintendent of Police. The Deputy Superintendent of Police noted the numbers of these currency notes and also made his small signatures on the said currency notes and spriniked phenophelene powder over them and thereafter handed over the said currency notes to the complainant. The Deputy Superintendent of Police. Vigilance thereafter washed his hands in a solution of sodium carbonate which turned red. He also got washed the hands of Raja Ram complainant with the said solution and it also became red. Both these wash were sealed and kept in two separate phials and a memo was prepared about the same at the Vigilance office. On 17-12-77 the complainant along with Raj Narain and one Kuberpati reached the office of Deputy Superintendent of Police Vigilance, Allahabad. He along with Inspector Sri Ayodhya Prasad Tripathi, the witnesses Raj Narain and other police personnel went to the Bus Stand District Court at about 11 A.M. All of them stood behind the stop of Moti Lal in front of police club across the road at some distance from each other. At about 11.30 A.M. Ganga Prasad accused-appellant came there and met the complainant behind the stop of Moti Lal. The accused-appellant asked the complainant to give the bribe money and go. Thereafter the complainant handed over the currency notes (Ex. 3 and 4), which he took by his right hand and kept them in the front pocket of his 'Kurta' on the left side. The complainant asked the accused-appellant while handing over the said currency notes whether he shall now get the water and the accused-appellant replied that now he will be having no difficulty. When the accused-appellant placed the currency notes in his pocket, the Vigilance Inspector Sri Ayodhya Prasad Tripathi and other police personnel who were standing nearby came there and arrested the accused-appellant and on his personal search recover the currency notes aforesaid from his said pocket, which were sealed on the spot, then recovery memo Ex. Ka. 4 was prepared on the spot and the witnesses signed over it. The hands of the accused-appellant were washed with sodium carbonate solution which became red, which was kept in a sealed phial. The pocket of the 'Kurta' aforesaid was also washed with sodium carbonate solution and its colour also turned red. This wash was kept in another phial and sealed. The 'Kurta' was also sealed in a bundle. A recovery memo was prepared by Vigilance Inspector Sri Ayodhya Prasad Tripathi. Then the accused-appellant was taken away alongwith the said case property to the police station Colonelganj and there Sri Ayodhya Prasad Tripathi lodged a formal F.I.R. whereupon the case was registered and investigation started which culminated in the submission of the charge-sheet against the accused-appellant.;