https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=311921 The SC held that in corruption cases under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, culpability of public servants can be established through inferential deduction even without direct evidence from complainants. Section 20 creates mandatory legal presumption ("shall presume") when gratification acceptance is proved, shifting burden to accused. The Court clarified that proof of acceptance need not be through direct evidence alone. Regarding hostile witnesses, their evidence cannot be completely rejected but must be evaluated carefully, with creditworthy portions considered if corroborated by other reliable evidence. The SC resolved conflicts between earlier judgments, confirming that circumstantial evidence can sustain convictions under Sections 7 and 13(1)(d) when primary evidence is unavailable. en-us Thu, 15 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0530 Tue, 06 May 2025 14:14:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=311921 The SC held that in corruption cases under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, culpability of public servants can be established through inferential deduction even without direct evidence from complainants. Section 20 creates mandatory legal presumption ("shall presume") when gratification acceptance is proved, shifting burden to accused. The Court clarified that proof of acceptance need not be through direct evidence alone. Regarding hostile witnesses, their evidence cannot be completely rejected but must be evaluated carefully, with creditworthy portions considered if corroborated by other reliable evidence. The SC resolved conflicts between earlier judgments, confirming that circumstantial evidence can sustain convictions under Sections 7 and 13(1)(d) when primary evidence is unavailable. Case-Laws Indian Laws Thu, 15 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=311921