No Proof of Bribe Demand: Telangana HC Acquits Professors in MBBS Practical Exam Case

At the same time, the court also said that the chief examiner, who is a crucial witness and who could have confirmed or denied the allegation of manipulation of marks, was not examined by the prosecution. The mark sheet of the complainant was not produced.

Further, the Court observed that the evidence of the sole prosecution witness lacked corroboration and none of the other students who had taken the exam were examined, and there was no explanation as to why only the complainant would be targeted for such a bribe demand.

Hence, Justice Surender relied on various judgments of the Supreme Court and reiterated that mere recovery of cash without independent proof of demand and acceptance was not enough to sustain a conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Accordingly, the judge allowed the appeal, set aside the trial court's judgment, acquitted the two professors and ordered their release.

The judge was dealing with criminal appeals filed by Dr Gurushantappa S Bandi and Dr K Anand Rao challenging their conviction and sentence by the trial court. The trial court had earlier convicted the appellants under Sections 7 and 13(1)(d) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sentenced them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one and a half years each.