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The observations were made by the court while rejecting the second bail application of a Patwari who was accused of demanding a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a poor man to process mutation
The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently observed that corruption at the grassroots level within the government offices is akin to termites silently devouring the pillars of democracy.
The bench of Justice Harpreet Singh Brar said, "It gnaws away at the trust of our citizens in the very institutions which are meant to serve them. To preserve the sanctity of justice, this weed of corruption must be uprooted, for it is only in the sunlight of transparency and integrity that the tree of justice can bear fruit. The Court's duty is not just to punish the corrupt but to sow the seeds of deterrence, ensuring that the shadows of corruption do not darken the halls of governance".
The observations were made by the court while rejecting the second bail application of a Patwari who was accused of demanding a bribe to process mutation and was charged under Section Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 as amended by Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2018.
The allegations against the accused were that he demanded a bribe of Rs 10000 from a poor man. The complainant had also recorded the whole conversation by the accused Patwari of asking for a bribe from him.
Regarding the maintainability of the plea, court noted that it was a second bail application and the counsel for the applicant was unable to "spell out difference of even one fact or circumstance which was not canvassed earlier".
"In view of the settled law discussed above, once the first anticipatory bail is denied without there being any change in the fact situation, the second application for the same relief under Section 438 Cr.P.C. cannot be entertained by making new arguments or twists by introducing new circumstances, development or material. Thus, the second application without any change in the fact situation is held to be not maintainable," court said.
On the merit of the case, court observed that the conversation between the complainant and the accused regarding the demand of the bribe as well as the negotiation for reducing the amount of the demanded bribe were on record.
"The conspicuous facts and circumstances of the case pricks the conscience of this Court," said the court.
Therefore, court held the application bereft of any merit and without any substance and dismissed the same.
Case Title: Rashpal Singh v. State of Punjab
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