Delhi court acquits Jal Board official in bribery case

Delhi’s Rouse Avenue district court on Monday acquitted Sanjeev Rohilla, a junior engineer with the Delhi Jal Board, who was charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 36,000.

The court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the crucial element of “demand” and “acceptance” of illegal gratification beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Judge Ruchi Aggarwal Asrani, the Special Judge for PC Act cases, placed heavy reliance on the Supreme Court’s precedent in Neeraj Dutta vs State, emphasizing that mere recovery of money is not sufficient to convict an individual under Section 7 of the Act.

The court found material contradictions in the testimonies of key witnesses, including the complainant, and noted the absence of a clear nexus between the alleged bribe and an official act.

The defence team, comprising advocates Naveen Kumar, Aditi Raghav Arora, Abhishek Mahal, and Tushar Agarwal, argued several legal points that led to the acquittal.

The court agreed that the complainant, being the sole witness to the pre-trap demand, was an accomplice whose testimony required independent corroboration, which was lacking. Furthermore, the testimony of an independent public witness presented by the defense significantly weakened the prosecution’s case.

The court also noted that the investigation was “defective, inconsistent, and biased,” creating irreparable infirmities in the prosecution’s narrative.

In its order, the court underscored that the presumption of innocence is a fundamental right and that the prosecution must establish that the accused “must have committed the offence,” not merely that he “may have.”

Since the foundational facts of the charge were not proven, the benefit of doubt was accorded to the accused.