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TMI Blog2015 (3) TMI 1383X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and Section 7 of the PC Act, to imprisonment of one year each. 2. Recapitulating the facts leading up to these Appeals, Accused 1 and Accused 2 were, at the time of the perpetrations, employed as officers with Central Excise IX 'E' Range. Accused 1 held the rank of Superintendent, and Accused 2, his subordinate, Inspector of Excise in the same office. The Complainant (PW2 before the Trial Court), a manufacturer of 'camel back rubber slab', received a show cause notice for payment of Excise duty amounting to Rs. 1,01,333/-. PW2 attended an enquiry held before the Assistant Commissioner (PW4) of Central Excise, on 07.20.1996; the notice was recalled following this Enquiry. Thereafter, PW2 received yet another show cause notice, dated 24.05.1996, issued by Accused 1 as its signatory, demanding 'difference amounts' (as recorded by the Trial Court) of Rs. 1,23,193/-. PW2 visited the office of both Accused on 04.06.1996 at 11:30 am, where he met both Accused 1 and Accused 2. Upon questioning the Accused persons about the second notice, PW2 was confronted with a bribe demand from Accused 1 of Rs. 1000/- for each Accused whereto Accused 2 concurred. The bribe dema ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e convictions secured Under Sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Madras High Court, as finds mention in our exordium, partly allowed the Appeals before it, modifying the Trial Court's order therewithal. 4. The conviction of Accused 2 is unproblematic. Accused 2 was successfully entrapped by the trap team with Rs. 2000/- recovered from his possession. He has admitted the receipt of the bribe amount. The only effort at proving his innocence has been the submission that receipt of the entire sum was on behalf of Accused 1, no part of which was demanded by Accused 2 for his own keeping and consumption. This specious defence would have us believe that Accused 2's mala fides extended only to being an abettor to the principal perpetrator, Accused 1, and went no further. We are more inclined to accept PW2's more robust and rounded account that Accused 2 accepted the sum both for himself and on behalf of Accused 1, in preference to Accused 2's claim that he was personally uninvolved, but merely an abettor-custodian on Accused 1's behalf. Since the defence of Accused 2 stands already breached by his admission of his facilitation of an illegal act al ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is not illegal to act upon the uncorroborated testimony of the accomplice the rule of prudence so universally followed has to amount to rule of law that it is unsafe to act on the evidence of an accomplice unless it is corroborated in material aspects so as to implicate the accused. The reasons for requiring corroboration of the testimony of an accomplice are that an accomplice is likely to swear falsely in order to shift the guilt from himself and that he is an immoral person being a participator in the crime who may not have any regard to any sanction of the oath and in the case of an approver, on his own admission, he is a criminal who gives evidence under a promise of pardon and supports the prosecution with the hope of getting his freedom". In the prosecution confronting us, Accused 2 has given testimony from the locus of an alleged accomplice to the crime. His incriminating asseverations against his co-accused would, on the evidence available in this case, require interactive corroboration: the testing and authentication of Accused 2's testimony against the strength and degree of circumstances suggestive of Accused 1's guilt. 7. Insofar as the Complainant's test ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... outset, be guarded against and suspicious of the testimony of trap witnesses. We are of the opinion that the law hitherto expressed by this Court upholds precisely this exposition. 10. Here, a bald allegation by the defence of PW2's (Complainant/trap witness) interest in falsely implicating Accused 1 will not suffice. By all accounts, PW2 had initially earned a favourable order by the Assistant Commissioner, who recalled the demand notice issued to PW2. Thereafter, Accused 1 proceeded to issue another demand notice. Only pursuant to this vexatious, illegal and unchartered demand notice did the first meeting take place between the Complainant and Accused 1 and Accused 2, where the graft demand made by both these officers arose, followed by the Complainant's complaint to the Police, and the laying of the trap. There is no discernible motive for the victim to falsely implicate Accused 1. 11. The Complainant's testimony evinces verity on yet another count. In his complaint, the Complainant has listed Accused 1-the absentee at the trap-as the First Accused, whereas Accused 2, his subordinate, is the Second Accused. It is at once apparent that, having apprised the trap off ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce in corruption cases, so as to allay doubts about the actual receiving of bribes by accused persons, there may be cases where there are multiple demanders in a common or conjoint bribe demand, and for whatsoever reason, only one receives the sum on their behalf, and is entrapped in consequence. Depending on strength of the remainder of evidence, in these cases, constructive receipt by co-accused persons is open to establishment by the prosecution, in order that those who intermediately obtain bribes be latched with equal culpability as their co-accused and entrapped receivers. This will, of course, discount those cases where the trap is successful only against one and not the other official, the latter having refused to accept the bribe tendered. In this case, the trap would have clearly failed against such an official, and there could be no question of the application of constructive receipt. If the receipt and handling of bribe money by Accused 2 so convincingly and inexorably points towards his custodianship of part of the same bribe amount on behalf of his superior officer, namely Accused 1, then Accused 1 cannot rely on mere non-handling/non-receipt of the bribe money, as hi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nclusively incriminated by the circumstances and evidence of the complainant. The Court held: "In the instant case, PW1 has no axe to grind against A-1. It is not in dispute that he had to get a patta issued A-1 and he categorically stated that A-1 had made the demand. A-2 was his assistant and the tainted money was recovered from A-2 while he was just going out of the office of A-1. Unless A-1 has demanded the money and has also directed him to hand over the same to A-2, there was no reason at all as to why PW1 should hand over the money to A-2. PW1 has consistently stated that A-1 demanded the bribe and that A-2 received the amount as stated by him. Therefore it cannot be said that there is no corroboration regarding the demand. This is a case where each of the accused tried to throw the blame on the other but taking the overall circumstances into consideration in the light of evidence of PWs 3 and 4 along with the evidence of PWs 1 and 2 both Courts below have consistently held that the evidence of these witnesses establishes the guilt of the accused and we see no reason to come to a different conclusion". 17. Analogously applying the facts of this case to the present fact set, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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