The Rouse Avenue Court, Delhi has acquitted the accused, Junior Engineer of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), in a 2019 bribery case filed by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), holding that the prosecution failed to establish beyond reasonable doubt the crucial elements of demand, acceptance, and recovery under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The case originated from a complaint by Aurangzaib Khan, Plant Manager of Vatech Wabag Ltd., who alleged that the accused had demanded ₹36,000 for clearing pending bills related to the Keshopur Sewage Treatment Plant. ACB officials later organized a trap and recovered tainted notes from the accused.
However, Dr. Ruchi Aggarwal Asrani, Special Judge (PC Act), ACB-02, found that the prosecution could not prove the foundational facts of demand or voluntary acceptance of any bribe, either prior to or during the trap. The Court further observed that even the recovery of the money itself was not established beyond reasonable doubt.
Quoting the well-settled principle of criminal jurisprudence, the Court noted:
“Merely because presence of phenolphthalein powder and sodium carbonate was found in the hand wash and pocket wash of the accused cannot by itself be sufficient to prove guilt. Where two interpretations are possible, one favouring the prosecution and the other favouring the accused, the interpretation favouring the accused must be adopted.”
Accordingly, the Court extended the benefit of doubt to the accused and acquitted him of all charges under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, directing that his bail bonds be discharged.
Appearances:
Defendant: Advocates Naveen Kumar, Aditi Raghav Arora, Abhishek Mahal and Tushar Agarwal