Home Case Index All Cases Indian Laws Indian Laws + HC Indian Laws - 2021 (10) TMI HC This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2021 (10) TMI 45 - HC - Indian LawsSeeking quashing of FIR issued for offences punishable u/s 120-B IPC and Sections 7A, 8 and 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 - Bribe - active role in the management of the Trust or its constituent institutes, played or not - violations of the GST Act discovered during Audit of the University - HELD THAT:- It is a settled principle that the power to interdict a proceeding either at the threshold or an intermediate stage of the trial is a power which inheres in a High Court, under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C., on the broad principle that in the event the allegations made in the FIR or the charge-sheet, as may be, prima facie do not disclose a triable offence, there can be no reason as to why the accused should be made to suffer the agony of a legal proceeding that more often than not gets protracted. A prosecution which is bound to become lame or a sham ought to be interdicted in the interest of justice lest the continuance thereof will amount to an abuse of the process of the law. A general argument made by the prosecution is that a general presumption under Section 20 of the Act against the public servant is that he has accepted or agreed to accept bribe, unless the contrary is proved by him. Thus, the burden of proof is on the accused public servant to prove his innocence. However, while making such a submission, the fallacy is that the presumption under Section 20 can be invoked against the accused only if, the investigating agency prima facie satisfies the court that the essential ingredients or the uncontroverted foundational facts unerringly point towards the presence of an act of bribery in a particular case. It is only in such cases, when the prosecution is able to specifically establish the proof of demand by the public servant which he has voluntarily demanded and accepted for doling out an undue advantage only then, can Section 20 be invoked against the accused public servant in question - it is thus to be borne in mind that the “standard of proof” as required for the explanation offered by the accused for this particular purpose, even at the stage of trial, has been held to be the yardstick of preponderance of probability and not that of the higher/stricter standard of beyond reasonable doubt. The CEO being the nerve centre in the management of the University was best suited to recognize whether the Accountant was an employee of the University or not. That being the case, it seems that the Accountant is a stranger to the University and the fact that an allegation has been made that the present petitioner trustee had conspired with this unknown stranger to the University to bribe GST officials for the ongoing audit process seems inherently improbable and absurd. This Court comes to the irresistible conclusion that the criminal proceedings in the present case are not warranted. As a sequitur it flows that the proceedings against the Petitioner herein be quashed and the same are hereby quashed accordingly, insofar as the role of the present Petitioner is concerned. Application disposed off.
|