White-Collar Crime

The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PCA), is a cornerstone of India's legal framework in combating corruption, particularly within government agencies and public offices. Over the years, the Act has evolved through amendments and judicial interpretations to address white-collar crimes effectively.

Majorly follwing classes of cases are common:

Bribery Cases
Prosecution Requirements include Proof of Demand for a public servant to be convicted of accepting a bribe. Both the demand and acceptance of the bribe must be established by the prosecution. Mere acceptance of amount is not enough to prove the offence.

Public officials can be convicted based on circumstantial evidence if direct evidence is lacking. This includes cases where the complainant is unavailable.

Disproportionate Asset Cases
Earlier prosecuted under Section 13(1)(e), such offences can be covered under Section 13(1)(b) of the Act post 2018 amemdement. The amendement has introduced an interesting omission in the explaination of Known Sources of Income by ommitting the requirement of other sources of income being reported as per service rules. It will be intresting to see how the ommission plays out in the case made by Prosecutor.

Trap Cases
Under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), when traps are used to catch individuals involved in bribery, several specific defenses can be employed:

• The defense can argue that the trap was fabricated or that evidence was planted. This can be supported by inconsistencies in testimonies or lack of independent verification.
• The defense may highlight discrepancies in the trap proceedings, such as the suspicious presence of official witnesses or contradictions regarding prearranged trap signals.
• Highlight any delays between the trap setup and the phenolphthalein test. Even a short delay can invalidate the test results.
• Dispute source of the phenolphthalein- the accused's hands could have been contaminated with phenolphthalein from other sources, such as handling other items or being in close proximity to someone else who handled tainted currency. Its is also a factor that althought now banned, earlier phenolphthalein was used as a laxative.
• Emphasize that the pink color produced by phenolphthalein in an alkaline solution can fade over time, which complicates its use as reliable evidence in court proceeding
• The court requires corroborative evidence to support the test results.