TARSEM LALversusSTATE OF HARYANA

                                     TARSEM LAL                                       A
                                             v.
                               STATE OF HARYANA

                                  JANUARY 30, 1987
                                                                                      B
                        [G.L. OZA AND M.M. DUTT, JJ.]

            Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, s.5(2) and s.161 Indian
       Penal Code, 18~Accused a patwari-Demanding money for supply
       of copies from revenue record-Defence that money received for
       deposit in small savings scheme-Defence version disbe/ieved-
       Conviction and sentence upheld.                                                c
              The appellant, who was a Patwari, had been demanding money
        for supply of copies from the revenue record to the complainant who
        needed them in connection with the execution of a sale deed. The bar-
        gain was settled for Rs.200. Rs.SO were paid in advance and therefore
                                                                                      D
        copies were given, hut the appellant ,was to receive the balance of
      . Rs. 150 for which the complainant had promised to pay it on the date of
        registration and accordingly on the date of registration it was fixed up
        that the appellant will he available at the tea stall near the Tehsil where
        this amount will be paid. The complainant brought the conduct of the
        appellant to the notice of the Sub-Divisional Officer who sent a com-
                                                                                      E
        plaint to the Police Station, on the basis of which first information
        report was lodged.

             As the concerned Police Officers were not available, the Sub-
---    Divisional Officer himself laid a trap. The complainant handed over the
       currency notes initialled by the Sub-Divisional Officer to the appellant.
                                                                                      F
       On receiving a signal, the Sub-Divisional Officer and the witnesses
       reached there and on personal search currency notes of Rs. 150 were
       recovered from the person of the appell;mt.

            The appellant was prosecuted and convicted under s.5(2) of the
       Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 and sentenced to rigorous impri-
                                                                               G
       sonment for two years and fine of Rs. 150 and also under s. 161 of the
       Indian Penal Code to rigorous imprisonment for one year and a fine of
       Rs.100. The plea of the appellant that the Government wanted to collect
       money from the land holders for small savings scheme and the Patwaris
       were instructed to collect this am9uut was rejected by the Special
       Judge.                                                                  H

                                           115
        116                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS           [1987] 2 S.C.R.

A             The appeal of the appellant was dismissed by the High Conrt.

              In further appeal to this Conrt, on behalf of the appellant it was
        contended that the copies of the revenne record which were needed by
        the complainant had already been supplied to him and the sale deed was
        registered before the trap and that the appellant had received the
B
        money for depositing the same under the small savings scheme on behalf
        of the complainant.

              Partly allowing the aippeal,

               HELD: 1. The com1iction of the appellant under s.5(2) of the
C       Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 and s. 161 of the Indian Penal Code
        is maintained. However, his sentence as regards sentence of imprison-
        ment is reduced to the sentence already undergone but the sentence of
        fine is maintained. [1200-E I

D       2. The explanation given by the appellant was that he had re-
  ceived the amount to be deposited in the small savings scheme on behalf
  of the complainant. He had neither made any note of this fact nor given
  any receipt to the complainant. The Sub-Divisional Officer was a
  Revenue Officer and the appellant being a Patwari was his subordinate.
  The normal conduct of the appellant would have been to tell him as soon
E as h~ arrived for search that in fact he had received this amonnt for
                                                                                     +
  depositing it under the small savings scheme. The conduct of the appel-
  lant in not coming out with this explanation instantaneously goes a long                 ....
  way to make his explanation just an after thought specially when Sub-
  Divisional Officer conducted tine search and recovered the amonnt from
  his person. The Courts below were right in discarding this explanation                          ,.
                                                                                    ·~··
F of the appellant. [119G-H; 120A-B]

              3. Where the receipt of the amount and its recovery is not dis-
         puted it is not necessary for this: Court to go through the evidence and
         examine it afresh. l119EJ

    G         CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
         No. 208 of 1978.

              From the Judgment and Order dated 23.12.1977 of the Punjab
         and Haryana High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 259 of 1974

    H          M.R. Sharma, C.M. Sharma and H.K. Puri for the Appellant.
               TARSEM LAL v. STATE OF HARYANA [OZA, J.]              117

         Harbans Lal, I.S. Goel and C.V. Subba Rao for the Respondent.     A

         The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

          OZA, J. This appeal has been filed by the appellant after the
    grant of special leave by this Court against his conviction under Sec.
    5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sentence to rigorous B
    imprisonment for 2 years and fine of Rs.150 and also under Sec. 161 of
    the Indian Penal Code and rigorous imprisonment for one year and a
    fine of Rs.100 awarded by Special Judge, Ambala and maintained by
    the High Court of Punjab & Haryana by its judgment dated
    23.12.1977.

          According to the prosecution Shri M.G. Devasahayam P.W.4
                                                                           c
i   Sub-Divisional Officer., Jagadhri had sent a complaint against the
    appellant to the Station House Officer, Jagadhri on 7 .6.1972 on the
    basis of which the first information report was recorded at Police
    Station about 4 P.M. on 7.6.1972. The Sub-Divisional Officer has
    received an application from one Gian Singh complainant about the con- D
    duct of the appellant. It was alleged by Gian Singh P. W .2 in the
    complaint that the appellant who was a Patwari of Bambhol Circle,
    had been demanding money for supply of copies from the revenue
    record and Gian Singh needed those copies in connection with the
    execution of a sale-deed. Gian Singh was to purchase land form Brij
    Bhushan who was to act as an Attorney for his mother. It was alleged E
    that for this Rs.200 were settled out of which Rs.50 wete paid and
    Rs.150 were to be paid on the date of the sale-deed. The copies of the
    documents required were obtained after Rs.50 were paid. The sale-
    deed was to be executed on 7.6.72 and therefore on this date Gian
    Singh and Brij Bhushan approached the Sub-Divisional Officer with an
    application making these allegations against the appellant. The Sub- F
    Divisional Officer attempted to contact the Deputy Superintendent of
    Police and the Sub-Inspector of Police incharge of the Police Station
    concerned, but when none of them were available he himself decided to
    lay a trap. It is alleged that Gian Singh P.W.2, Brij Bhushan P.W.3,
    Raj Kumar and Mangal Singh P.W.1 had gone to the house of the
    Sub-Divisional Officer at 2.40 P.M. on 7.6.1972. Gian Singh narrated G
    the whole story and stated that he had promised to pay he appellant
    Rs.150 on the date on which the sale deed was to be executed. Rs.150
    were produced by Gian Singh which included a 100 rupee note and 5
    notes of Rs.10 each. Their number were noted and the Sub-Divisional
    Officer initialled the currency notes and were given to Gian Singh and
    a trap was laid. Brij Bhushan was asked to act as a witness. Gian Singh H
    118                    SUPREME COURT REPORTS             [1987] 2 S.C.R.

    and Brij Bhushan therefore reached the canteen near the Tehsil. The           \-
A
    Sub-Divisional Officer, Raj Kumar and Mungal Singh went to Tensil
    premises in a Jeep and waited near the tea stall for a signal. On receiv-
    ing the signal they reached there and on personal search currency
    notes of Rs.150 were recovered from the person of the appellant. On
    these facts the appellant was prosecuted and was convicted and
B   sentenced as mentioned above. The facts are not disputed. The money
    has been recovered from the possession of the appellant and it is also
    not disputed that he received this money from Gian Singh. Even be-
    fore the High Court these facts, were not disputed. The plea taken by
    the appellant was that the Govt. wanted to collect money from the
    land holders for small savings schemes and the Patwaris were instructed
    to collect this amount. Appellant also examined some defence to indi-
c   cate that such circulars were issued to the Patwaris and they were
    collecting the amounts to be deposited in the small savings schemes
    and on this basis they received appreciation and those who could not
    collect sufficient amount to meet the target also received remarks. It
    was contended before the High Court and also before this Court that
D   this amount the appellant had rnceived as a deposit for the small savings
    scheme and which was ultimately recovered by the Sub-Divisional
    Officer. It was also contended that in fact the copies of the revenue
    record which were needed by Gian Singh had already been supplied to
    him and in fact the sale deed was registered on 7th June before this
    trap and therefore it was alleged that Rs.150 were paid as alleged by
E   appellant and it was on this basis contended that the explanation given
    by the appellant that he had received the money to be deposited under
    the small savings scheme appear to be reasonable.

          It is significant that when the Sub-Divisional Officer on getting
    the signal reached the canteen alongwith the witnesses and conducted
F   the search it was not the stand of the app~llant that he had received the
    money for small scale deposits as it is apparent that if the money was
    received for that purpose, as soon as the Sub-Divisional Officer
    reached the canteen with the witnesses and wanted to search the appel-
    lant, appellant would have immediately came out with this explana-
    tion. Learned counsel for the appellant frankly conceded that this was
G   not the case of the appellant that he came out with this explanation on
    the spot at that time. This is not his case even in the statement Fe-
    corded at the trial nor such a suggestion was put to anyone of the
    prosecution witnesses in the course of cross examination. In. view of
    this it could not be disputed that this explanation has been given as an
    after thought and this itself goes to show that this explanation is just as
H   an imagination.
                    TARSEM LAL v. STATE OF HARYANA [OZA, J.l              119

               There appears to be some controversy about the fact as to A
         whether the Patwaris were directed to collect funds for small savings
         schemes and in this respect the learned Trial Court also examined the
         Tehsildar as a Court witness and after considering all the evidence
         disregarded the explanation given by the appellant in respect of the
         money (Rs.150) recovered fron his person.
                                                                                 B
              The learned Trial Court after considering the ds:fence evidence
         and the evidence of the Tehsildar did not accept the defence version
         and convicted the appellant. The Trial Court also considered the evi-
         dence of P.W .5 Jee! Ram who was the keeper of the tea stall who was
         examined by the prosecution but he turned 'hostile' and supported the
         defence version.
                                                                                 c
               Learned counsel for the appellant went through the evidence in
         detail and attempted to contend that as the copies of the documents
         had already been received there was no occasion for Gian Singh to pay
         Rs.150. According to the prosecution the bargain was settled for
         Rs.200. Rs.50 were paid in advance and therefore copies were given D
         but the appellant was to receive the balance of Rs.150 for which Gian
         Singh had promised to pay it on the date of the registration and accor<l-
         ingly on the date of registration it was fixed up that the appellant will
         be available at the tea stall near the Tehsil where this amount will be
         paid and it was because of this that Gian Singh appreached the Sub-
         Divisional Officer with the complaint. In fact where the receipt of E
-        the amount and its recovery is not disputed it is not necessary for us to
         go through the evidence and examine it afresh, although learned
         counsel went through the evidence in detail. The only question is as to
         whether the Courts below were right in rejecting the explanation of the
         appellant for receipt of Rs.150. The explanation given by the appellant
         which was seriously pressed by the learned counsel for the appellant F
         was that he had received this amount to be deposited in the small
         savings scheme on behalf of Gian Singh but it is significant that neither
         he had made any note of this fact nor given any receipt to Gain Singh.
         Apart from it it is significant that the Sub-Divisional Officer who was a
         revenue officer and the appellant being a Patwari was his subordinate.
         The normal conduct of the appellant would have been to tell him as G
    -\   soon as he arrived for search that in fact he had received this amount to
     '   be deposited in the small savings scheme. It is impossible to believe
         that if the appellant had received this amount for being deposited in
         the small savings scheme he would have not opened his mouth and
         permitted the search and recovery of this amount from his pocket to be
         done by the Sub-Divisional Officer and allowed the matter to be H
    120                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS             [1987] 2 S.C.R.
    handed over to the Police and still would not have come out to say
A   what he chose to say at the trial. This conduct of the appellant in not
    coming out with this explanation instantaneously goes a long way to
    make this explanation just an after thought specially when Sub-
    Divisional Officer conducted the search and recovered this amount
    from his person. In this view of the matter therefore in our opinion
B   both the Courts below were right in discarding this explanation of the
    appellant. We therefore see no substance in this contention advanced
    on behalf of the appellant.

           Learned counsel ultimately contended that this appellant a
    Patwari who had faced the trial and pendency of this appeal for about
    14 years will now have to go to jail for serving out a part of this
c   sentence which remained to be served. It is no doubt true that having
    been convkted for these offences the appellant is bound to lose his
    service. It was also stated that he had served out some sentence of the
    imprisonment also. The incident is of 1972 and we are now in 1987. In
    view of these circumstances in our opinion the sentence of the impris-
D   onment already undergone and sentence of find imposed by Hon'ble
    the Trial Court will meet the ends of justice. Consequently appeal is
    partly allowed. The conviction of the appellant under Sec.5(2) of the
    Prevention of Corruption Act and Sec. 161 of the Indian Penal Code is
    maintained. However his sentence as regards sentence of imprison-
    ment is reduced to the sentence already undergone but the sentence of
E   fine is maintained. He is on bail. His bail bond shall be cancelled if he
    had not paid the amount of fine he shall do so within one month from
    today.                                                                      -
    A.P.J.                                                  Appeal allowed.