Delhi High Court Acquits Govt Engineers Accused Of Taking ₹900 Bribe In 1991

The Delhi High Court has acquitted two former engineers of the Flood Control Department accused of accepting a bribe of ₹900 each in 1991, bringing to an end their 35-year-old long legal battle under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Allowing the appeals filed by the accused, Justice Chandrasekharan Sudha set aside the trial court's 2002 conviction, holding that the prosecution failed to prove the foundational requirement of “demand” of illegal gratification beyond reasonable doubt.

“It is no doubt true that Section 20 of the PC Act mandates a statutory presumption in favour of the prosecution; however, such presumption is not automatic and can only be invoked when the prosecution first establishes the foundational facts, namely, the demand for and acceptance of illegal gratification by the accused,” the bench clarified.

The case pertained to allegations that the accused, then Assistant Engineer and Junior Engineer in the Flood Control Department, demanded ₹1,800 from a contractor's representative for clearing pending bills. A trap was laid the same day, and ₹900 was allegedly recovered from each accused.

However, the High Court found multiple inconsistencies in the prosecution's case.

A key factor that weighed with the Court was documentary evidence in the form of muster rolls, which indicated that both accused were at a work site on the day the alleged demand was made.

Further, the Court noted that there were no pending dues payable to the contractor at the time of the alleged demand. “This also raises doubts regarding the existence of any motive or occasion for the alleged demand of illegal gratification by A1 and A2,” the Court said.

The High Court also drew an adverse inference against the prosecution for failing to examine key witnesses, including the contractor himself, who was best placed to speak about any pending payments.

As such, the conviction was set aside and both engineers were acquitted of all charges.

Appearance: Mr. Sameer Chandra, Ms. Vivya Nagpal, Mr. Ekansh Bansal and Mr.Aryan Tomar, Advocates for Appellant; Mr. Atul Guleria, SPP with Mr. Aryan Rakesh and Ms. Atreyi Chatterjee, Advocates for Respondent

Case title: Dinesh Garg v. CBI

Case no.: CRL.A. 748/2002

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