Section 20 The Prevention of Corruption Act,
Section 20 โ The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
(as amended by the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018)
๐น Section 20: Presumption Where Public Servant Accepts Any Undue Advantage
๐ Bare Provision (Simplified):
When a public servant is prosecuted for taking a gratification (undue advantage) under Sections 7 or 11, the court shall presume that the gratification was accepted as a reward for doing or forbearing to do an official act โ unless the contrary is proved.
๐ Explanation:
Type of Offence Covered:
Applies when the public servant is charged under:
Section 7: Taking undue advantage (gratification) for performance of official duties.
Section 11: Accepting valuables without adequate consideration.
Legal Presumption (Rebuttable):
The court must presume that the public servant accepted the gratification corruptly.
However, this presumption is rebuttable, meaning the accused can provide evidence to disprove the presumption.
Burden of Proof Shifts:
Once the prosecution proves that gratification was taken, the burden shifts to the accused to prove it was not illegal.
โ๏ธ Important Case Laws:
State of Maharashtra v. Dnyaneshwar Laxman Rao Wankhede (2009) 15 SCC 200:
Held that mere recovery of money is not enough; the prosecution must establish demand and acceptance to invoke presumption under Section 20.
Krishan Chander v. State of Delhi (2016) 3 SCC 108:
Once demand and acceptance are proved, presumption under Section 20 automatically applies, and the accused must rebut it.
๐งพ Illustration:
If a government officer is caught taking โน5,000 from a contractor and the prosecution proves this amount was accepted during a trap, the court will presume it was a bribe unless the officer proves otherwise (e.g., a loan, return of borrowed money, etc.).
โ Purpose of Section 20:
To strengthen the hands of the law against corruption by:
Making it easier to secure convictions,
Preventing accused public servants from escaping on technical grounds.
RELATED Blog
0 comments