https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=282932 Criminal conspiracy requires reliable evidence of an agreement to commit an illegal act or a lawful act by illegal means; suspicion or mere knowledge is insufficient. On the facts, the requisite meeting of minds to misappropriate the gold was not proved, as the shortage and impurity pre-existed the appellant's joining duty and the appellant had reported the issue to the Board. Liability under the Prevention of Corruption Act also failed because entrustment or control of the property, and proof of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by corrupt or illegal means or abuse of position, were not established. In the absence of proved conspiracy, the IPC charges under Sections 403 and 477A also could not stand, and the convictions were set aside. en-us Tue, 25 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 01 Oct 2025 11:38:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=282932 Criminal conspiracy requires reliable evidence of an agreement to commit an illegal act or a lawful act by illegal means; suspicion or mere knowledge is insufficient. On the facts, the requisite meeting of minds to misappropriate the gold was not proved, as the shortage and impurity pre-existed the appellant's joining duty and the appellant had reported the issue to the Board. Liability under the Prevention of Corruption Act also failed because entrustment or control of the property, and proof of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by corrupt or illegal means or abuse of position, were not established. In the absence of proved conspiracy, the IPC charges under Sections 403 and 477A also could not stand, and the convictions were set aside. Case-Laws Indian Laws Tue, 25 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=282932