- 1 - NC: 2025:KHC-D:419 WP No. 103773 of 2024 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA, DHARWAD BENCH DATED THIS THE 10TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR WRIT PETITION NO. 103773 OF 2024 (GM-RES) BETWEEN: SRI. SHARANAPPA S/O. VEERAPPA PALLED, AGED ABOUT 49 YEARS, OCC. ARSI DAR, R/O. PLOT NO.81, KESHAV PARK, SAMBHAPURA ROAD, GADAG-582101. …PETITIONER (BY SRI. KARTIK GANACHARI, ADVOCATE) AND: 1. THE KARNATAKA LOKAYUKTHA REPRESENTED BY ITS SP, BEHIND NEW BUS STAND, GADAG-582116, THROUGH ACB GADAG. 2. SAYED HABEEB HUSSAINI AGED ABOUT 41 YEARS, OCC. AGRICULTURE AND BUSINESS, R/O. WARD NO. 5, CHITRAGAR ONI, KINNAL, KINNAL VILLAGE, TQ. AND DIST. KOPPAL-583230. …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. ANIL KALE, ADVOCATE FOR R1; NOTICE TO R2 IS SERVED) THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO, ISSUE A WRIT IN THE NATURE OF CERTIORARI OR ANY OTHER APPROPRIATE WRIT, ORDER OR DIRECTION TO QUASH THE COMPLAINT DATED. 16/09/2015 AND FIR DATED. 22/03/2019 VIDE ANNEXURE-A AND B FOR THE OFFENCES PUNISHABLE UNDER SEC. 7(A) OF Digitally signed by B K MAHENDRAKUMAR Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA DHARWAD BENCH Date: 2025.01.16 09:49:49 +0530 - 2 - NC: 2025:KHC-D:419 WP No. 103773 of 2024 PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION ACT, PENDING ON THE FILE OF HON’BLE PRL. DISTRICT AND SESSIONS JUDGE AT GADAG IN SPL. C.NO.1/2024, IN SO FAR AS PETITIONER HEREIN ACCUSED NO.2 IS CONCERNED, IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE AND EQUITY AND ETC. THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR ORAL ORDER 1. Respondent No.2 filed a complaint dated 16.09.2015, alleging that accused No.1, a driver in the Police Department, intercepted a tipper lorry transporting sand and handed over the vehicle to the Binkadakatti Police Station while retaining the original permit. Respondent No.2 claimed to have received a missed call from someone, purportedly a police staff member, stating that they had custody of the vehicle. Subsequently, Respondent No.2 received a call from one Maruthi, who informed him that accused No.1, Suresh, had demanded a sum of Rs.20,000/-. When Respondent No.2 called the number provided by Maruthi, accused No.1 answered and instructed him to visit a specific location. Upon visiting the spot, accused No.1-Suresh called Maruthi and instructed him to finalize the bribe amount, further directing Respondent No.2 to pay Rs.20,000/-. Respondent No.2 expressed willingness to pay - 3 - NC: 2025:KHC-D:419 WP No. 103773 of 2024 only Rs.6,000/-, and accused No.1 accepted Rs.3,000/- while demanding that the remaining Rs.11,000/- be paid the following day. The complaint filed by Respondent No.2 was registered as an offence punishable under Section 7(A) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”). It was also submitted that Respondent No.2 allegedly recorded conversations between accused Nos.1 and 2, in which accused No.2 is said to have demanded money for releasing the vehicle. 2. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that there is no substantial evidence to establish that the petitioner either demanded or accepted gratification from Respondent No.2. In the absence of such material, the continuation of the investigation would constitute an abuse of the process of law. He further argued that even if the demand is accepted as true, the lack of acceptance of the gratification amount is a sine qua non to constitute an offence under Section 7(A) of the Act. 3. In support of this argument, reliance was placed on the decision of the Co-ordinate Bench in W.P.No.24119/2022, disposed of on 22.04.2024. 4. In response, the learned counsel for Respondent No.1- Lokayuktha contended that the conversation recorded in the voice recorder and the opinion of the FSL report clearly establish that the - 4 - NC: 2025:KHC-D:419 WP No. 103773 of 2024 petitioner demanded and accepted gratification from Respondent No.2 to release the vehicle. He argued that the veracity of these allegations can only be assessed during the trial and cannot be adjudicated in this petition. 5. He further submitted that the mere acceptance of a gratification amount constitutes an offence under Section 7(A) of the Act. 6. The arguments of the learned counsel for the parties have been duly considered. 7. The complaint was filed by Respondent No.2 on 16.09.2015, but the FIR was registered against accused No.1 only on 22.03.2019, and the charge sheet was submitted on 20.12.2023, indicating an inordinate delay of over eight years from the date of the complaint. The State Forensic Science Laboratory, Madiwala, Bengaluru, submitted a report dated 29.12.2022, stating that a comparison of the respective voices based on auditory and feature extraction methods revealed that the male speaker, identified as Sri. Sharanappa V. Palled, found recorded in the audio files named “call_05-11-28_OUT_ 8150972548. wma” and “call_05-12-26_OUT_8150972548. wma” on the MYCARD micro SD card marked as D1, matched the sample speeches recorded in the audio files on the MASTER CD-R marked as D4. - 5 - NC: 2025:KHC-D:419 WP No. 103773 of 2024 8. Recorded conversation of the petitioner which reads as follows: ¥sÉÊ¯ï £ÀA: 6) call_05-11-28_OUT_8150972548 (DrAiÉÆà ¸ÀA¨sÁµÀuÉ) ¥sÉÊ¯ï £ÀA: 7) call_05-12-26_OUT_8150972548 (DrAiÉÆà ¸ÀA¨sÁµÀuÉ) 9. The petitioner/accused No.2 is working as an Assistant Sub-Inspector in the Reserve Police and District Armed Reserve. A perusal of the conversation indicates that there is neither a demand ¸ÀÄgÉñÀ ºÀ¯ÉÆà ¦AiÀiÁ𢠸ÀgÀ, ¸ÀgÀ vÀUÉÆÃj ¸ÀgÀ ¤ªÀiÁägÀ ªÀiÁvÁqÁÛgÀ ¸ÀÄgÉñÀ ºÁA, PÉÆqÀ PÉÆqÀ ±ÀgÀt¥Àà ¸ÀÄgÉñÀ_¸ÀÄgÉñÀ ºÉÃ½æ ¸ÀÄgÉñÀ ©ræ ©ræ ±ÀgÀt¥Àà ±ÀgÀt¥Àà ¸Àj ¸Àj NPÉ ¸ÀÄgÉñÀ ºÀ¯ÉÆà ¦AiÀiÁ𢠸ÀgÀ, vÀUÉÆÃj ªÀiÁvÁræ..500 gÀÆ¥Á¬Ä PÉýÛzÁgÉ ¸Àgï.. ¸ÀÄgÉñÀ K£ÀgÀ PÉÆræ.. JlgÀ Ml PÉÆlÖ ºÉÆÃVæ.. ±ÀgÀt¥Àà K£ÀgÀ ºÉýzÉ£ÀÄ CªÀjUÉ.. ¸ÀÄgÉñÀ K£À ºÉý®è¥À CªÀjUÉ.. £Á K£À ºÉý®è.. CzÀ »AUÀ PÉüÁPÀvÁågÀ CAzÀæ.. K£À EzÁÝl PÉÆræ¥Á CAzÁå.. ºÀ¯ÉÆà ±ÀgÀt¥Àà K£ÀgÀ ºÉýæà CªÀjUÉ ¸ÀÄgÉñÀ CzÀ.. CzÀ.. £ÉÆÃræà CªÀgÀ PÀrUÉ ¦AiÀiÁð¢ JµÀÖ ºÉüÁåj ±ÀgÀt¥Àà CzÀ CªÁ CAzÀj.. ºÀAVAUÀ CAzÁ - 6 - NC: 2025:KHC-D:419 WP No. 103773 of 2024 nor an acceptance of gratification. Even if it is assumed that the petitioner had demanded gratification, such an act would not constitute an offence under Section 7(A) of the Act, as ruled by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in W.P.No.105067/2023. 10. With reference to the decision of the Apex Court in Neeraj Dutta vs. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi), the Court in paragraph 11 held as follows: 11. On a coalescence of the judgments rendered by the Apex Court, as quoted supra, the essence of Section 7 of the Act is both demand and acceptance. The unmistakable inference from the interpretation, in the considered view of the Court, is that if there is a demand but no acceptance, it would not constitute an offence under Section 7 of the Act. Similarly, if there is acceptance but no demand, it would also not constitute an offence under Section 7 of the Act. An act alleged under Section 7 of the Act must have the essential ingredients of both demand and acceptance, and it must pertain to the performance of a public duty or forbearance from such performance. Therefore, demand and acceptance must be for the purpose of performing some public - 7 - NC: 2025:KHC-D:419 WP No. 103773 of 2024 duty, and such duty should involve pending work at the hands of the public servant against whom Section 7 of the Act is alleged.” 12. In view of the above, in the absence of any substantial evidence to substantiate that the petitioner had demanded and accepted gratification, the continuation of criminal proceedings would amount to an abuse of the process of law, as the essential elements required to constitute an offence under Section 7(A) of the Act are conspicuously absent. 13. Accordingly, I pass the following: ORDER i) The petition is allowed. ii) The impugned proceedings in SC No.1/2024 pending on the file of the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Gadag, insofar as it relates to the petitioner – accused No.2 stands quashed. Sd/- (HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR) JUDGE AC Ct:vh List No.: 1 Sl No.: 51