SONELAL TIWARI versus STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

Citation: [1998] 1 S.C.R. 197 · Decided: 15-01-1998 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: M.K. MUKHERJEE · Disposal: Dismissed

Judgment (excerpt)

SONELAL TIWARI 
A 
..i.,· 
v . 
STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH 
JANUARY 15, 1998 
[M.K. MUKHERJEE, S.P. KURDUKAR AND K.T. THOMAS, JJ.] 
B 
~)--
Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947: Sec. 5(2)-Revenue Inspector-
Demanded bribe for doi~g official act-Trapped-Currency notes recovered-
Phenolphthalein test showed posi1ive result-Trial court acquitted the c 
accused on the ground of some discrepancy in evidence-Conviction and 
sentence by High Court-Held, High Court rightly convicted the appellant-
No interference called for. 
The appellant, a Revenue Inspector, was charged for an offence under 
Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. 
D 
"" 
1 
The case of the prosecution was that PW 1 approached the appellant 
for certification of sale deed of his land for which the appellant demanded 
a sum of Rs. 100. However, the amount of bribe was settled at Rs. 50 in the 
presence of PW 3 and PW 4. PW 1 lodged a complaint with PW 10, the 
Vigilance Officer, who prepared a trap to nab the appellant. On the date of E 
occurrence, PW 1 handed over the marked currency notes to the appellant 
and the Vigilance Officer caught him red ha~ded. Phenolphthalein test 
conducted on the fingers of the appellant gave positive result. The Trial court 
on the ground of certain discrepencies in the evidence acquitted the appellant. 
On appeal, the High Court reversed the acquittal and convicted the appellant. F 
I" 
Aggrieved, the appellant filed the present appeal. On the death of the appellant 
his widow applied for resuscitation of the appeal and it was allowed. 
Dismissing the appeal, this Court 
HELD: I.I. The appellant was rightly convicted by the High Court G 
under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. There is no 
good ground to interfere with the findings of the High Court regarding the 
)' 
guilt of the appellant. (201-C-D) 
1.2. The tainted currency notes were found kept beneath the bag of the 
appellant. It is difficult to conceive that somebody else would have placed H 
197 
198 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
(1998] l S.C.R. 
A appellant's bag on the marked currency notes remaining on the office table 
kept in fr~nt of appellant. If somebody else had done it without appellant's 
consent, appellant would have resisted over the attempt to plant it. Appellant 
had no case, at any time, that he made any such resistance or that somebody 
else had snatched the bag for placing it on the currency notes. 1200-C-E] 
B 
1.3. , The plienolphthalein test conducted on the fingers of the appellant 
showed positive result. PW 10, the Deputy Superintendent of Police himself 
·-<:: 
had made advance prepaq1tions for conducting Phenolphthalein test. If the 
object of PW l 0 was to know for himself that appellant had really received 
money with his own hands it is unpresumptuous that PW 10 would have 
C asked the appellant to lift up the amount with his hands which would have 
obliterated the very object for which he made preparations to conduct the 
Phenolphthalein test. Hence this court is inclined to prefer the version of 
PW IO that he did not cause the appellant to take up currency notes with 
his hands. [199-E, 200-H, 210-B-C[ 
D 
State of UP. v. Zakaullah, JT (1997) SC 54; referred to. 
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal No. 664 
ofl989. 
From the Judgment and Order dated 17.3.89 of the Madhya Pradesh in 
E Crl. Appeal No. 1141 of 1984. 
F 
S.K. Gambhir for the Appellant. 
U.N. Bachawat, Ms. Madhur Dadlani and Uma Nath Singh for the 
Respondents. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
THOMAS, J. On the death of the sole appellant normally this appeal 
would have got abated. But appellant's widow Smt. Krishna Bai applied for 
1 esuscitation of the appeal presumably because she was not inclined to bear 
G the stigma fastened on her late husband with the finding of the High Court 
that he was guilty of corruption charge. Hence, she availed herself of the 
remedy envisaged in the proviso to Section 394 (2) of the Code of Criminal 
Procedure and applied for leave to continue the appeal. Leave was granted 
after condoning the delay involved in making the aforesaid application. 
H 
Appellant was accused in a case tried by a Special Judge for the offence 
S. TIWARI v. STATE OF M.P. [THOMAS, J.] 
199 
under Section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947. He was acquitted A 
--'i 
of the said charge by the trial court but was convicted by the High Court on 
an appeal filed by the State in reversal of the findi

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