A special court in Thane has acquitted a former railway pointsman in an 18-year-old bribery case, holding that the prosecution had failed to provide incriminating evidence against him, reported news agency PTI.
In his order of September 2, a copy of which was made available on Friday, Special CBI Judge D S Deshmukh dropped all charges against Shivaji Shripat Mashal.
According to the prosecution, the then station master of Kalyan station, Omprakash Tipanna Ninne, had demanded a monthly bribe of Rs 1,000 from a boot polish contractor. After being alerted by the contractor, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) laid a trap and caught Mashal allegedly accepting the money on Ninne`s behalf on March 2, 2007, reported PTI.
The court held that the demand and acceptance of the bribe were not proved against Mashal, a pointsman assigned to Ninne`s office that day as his regular peon was away. The complainant and Ninne passed away during the trial.
The court examined two prosecution witnesses but held that their depositions did not advance the prosecution`s case.
Judge Deshmukh noted that the CBI itself had filed an application to withdraw the case, citing critical issues. The complainant and the main accused are dead, while there is no reference to Mashal as the bribe receiver in the complaint or CBI`s verification proceedings, the court said, reported PTI.
The prosecution has failed to prove that Mashal had accepted the bribe of Rs 1,000 on behalf of the now-deceased station master, the judge said.
Advocate awarded Rs 1 lakh compensation for injuries suffered in accident 6 yrs ago
In another case, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal here has awarded Rs 1.09 lakh compensation to an advocate injured in a 2018 road accident, against her original claim which she worked out at Rs 10 lakh, noting she did not suffer from a permanent or functional disability.
There is no evidence to show the advocate is unable to do her practice due to the accidental injury. There is no future loss of income to the claimant, the tribunal, the MACT, presided over by member RV Mohite, said in the order on August 30. A copy of the order was made available on Thursday.
(With inputs from PTI)
