https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=771176 Conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act was found unsafe where the complainant, trap witnesses and the complainant's wife gave materially inconsistent accounts on the sequence of events, the accused's presence when the tainted money was placed, and the circumstances of recovery. Those contradictions went to the root of the prosecution case and undermined proof of demand and acceptance of illegal gratification beyond reasonable doubt. In the absence of reliable proof of demand, the statutory presumption under Section 20 could not be invoked against the accused. The conviction and sentence were therefore not sustainable, and acquittal followed on the benefit of doubt. en-us Fri, 09 May 2025 00:00:00 +0530 Thu, 22 May 2025 08:21:44 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=771176 Conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act was found unsafe where the complainant, trap witnesses and the complainant's wife gave materially inconsistent accounts on the sequence of events, the accused's presence when the tainted money was placed, and the circumstances of recovery. Those contradictions went to the root of the prosecution case and undermined proof of demand and acceptance of illegal gratification beyond reasonable doubt. In the absence of reliable proof of demand, the statutory presumption under Section 20 could not be invoked against the accused. The conviction and sentence were therefore not sustainable, and acquittal followed on the benefit of doubt. Case-Laws Indian Laws Fri, 09 May 2025 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=771176