VIGILANCE MANUAL VOLUME III - AP Online

820 DECISION - 425
(425)
(A) P.C. Act, 1988 — Secs. 7, 13(1)(d)
(B) Trap — appreciation of evidence
(C) Trap — ‘accept’, ‘obtain’
(i) Appreciation of evidence in a trap case.
(ii) ‘Acceptance’ under sec. 161 IPC and ‘obtaining’
under sec. 5(1)(d) of P.C. Act, 1947 (corresponding
to secs. 7, 13(1)(d) of P.C. Act, 1988) considered. It
cannot be said that without a prior demand, there
cannot be acceptance.
C.K. Damodaran Nair vs. Government of India,
1997 Cri.L.J. SC 739
Four Provident Fund Inspectors of Calicut including the
appellant were tried by the Special Judge, Ernakulam for offences
punishable under sec. 161 IPC and sec. 5(2) read with sec. 5(1)(d)
of P.C. Act, 1947 (corresponding to sec.7 and sec. 13(2) read with
sec. 13(1)(d) of P.C. Act, 1988). The Special Judge acquitted all of
them, and the High Court set aside the acquittal of the appellant and
convicted him for the above offences while maintaining the acquittal
of the other three.
The Supreme Court observed that from a combined reading
of sec. 161 IPC and sec. 4(1) of the P.C. Act, 1947 (corresponding to
sec. 20 of the P.C. Act, 1988), it is evident that if, in the instant case,
the prosecution has succeeded in proving that the appellant was a
public servant at the material time and that he had ‘accepted’ or
‘obtained’ Rs. 1,000/- as gratification from the complainant, not only
the first two ingredients of the former would stand proved but also
the third, in view of the presumption under the latter which the court
is bound to draw unless, of course, the appellant, in his turn has
succeeded in rebutting that presumption. Obviously, such a consent
can be established not only by leading evidence of prior agreement
but also from the circumstances surrounding the transaction itself