Srinagar, Feb 20 (KNS): A court on Wednesday acquitted an orderly of the charges of corruption as Vigilance Organization has failed to prove its case.
Vigilance Organization Kashmir had registered a case against an orderly, Showkat Ahmad Mir for allegedly asking for a bribe to seal a document at least ten years ago.
However, Court of Special Judge, Anti-Corruption, Kashmir Srinagar, Ravinder Nath Watal has acquitted Mir, saying that prosecution has not proved by cogent and clinching evidence that the alleged accused who demanded bribe money from him for outing a seal on Passenger Tax document was virtually Orderly Showkat Ahmad Mir.
Counsel of Showkat Mir, Advocate Junaid Rashid told Kashmir News Service (KNS) that court in its decision said prosecution has failed to provide beyond doubt that on the day of alleged trap accused demanded and accepted the bribe money from complainant as his statement to this fact does not find favour from the statements of two important witnesses i.e, Shadow witness Pupinder Singh and Independent witness Abdul Shakoor Malik.
It added since the prosecution has failed to prove the fact that accused demanded and accepted the bribe money by cogent evidence, therefore, the prosecution evidence to this fact that accused put the money in the pocket of his jeans and same was recovered from that is ultimately rendered doubtful by shadow and independent witness who have clearly stated that bribe money was recovered from the table and not from the pent of the alleged accused;
“So far as chemical positive tests are concerned, they have also been rendered doubtful as all the important witnesses and even the police witnesses are unanimous to this fact that hand wash and pocket wash of the accused that was shown to them in the court was not pinkish in colour and was pure crystal water coloured and moreover, without the FSL opinion about the presence of sodium carbonate in the hand wash or pocket wash the credibility of the chemical tests that have been conducted by prosecution gets shuttered,” the court added.
“For the foregoing reasons, prosecution has failed to prove the charge against the accused beyond doubt and therefore, accused deserves to be acquitted by extending him the benefit of doubt. In this view of the matter the charge sheet is dismissed and the accused is acquitted. The seized articles shall be returned to the concerned after the period of appeal is over. The file shall be consigned to the records after its due completion,” Court added. (KNS)