CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has quashed an FIR filed against a registration department officer for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 15,000 for releasing a registered file to a property owner, finding malafide intention on the part of the complainant.
Justice G Jayachandran said the complaint was made with a motive against sub-registrar P Dinesh and that the FIR was registered by the DVAC without any prima facie material. The judge noted that the FIR was registered on February 21, 2022, even though the trap proceedings were initiated by the inspector as early as February 2018 when he asked the complainant, Vinodhini, to talk to Dinesh regarding the document and record the conversation.
“The recorded conversation has not disclosed any demand of illegal gratification. While so, the registration of FIR, on the face of it, bristles with malafide,” judge said. He ruled, therefore, it is a fit case for quashing at FIR stage itself.
Senior counsel A Navaneethakrishnan, appearing for the petitioner (sub-registrar) said Dinesh made a fresh evaluation of the property and after finding a structure raised on the land, told Vinodhini to pay an additional charge of Rs 15,000. However, she made a false complaint with the DVAC as if Dinesh demanded a bribe of Rs 15,000 for releasing the document, the senior counsel said. The FIR was registered under sections of Prevention of Corruption Act even though the alleged bribe amount was not recovered from the sub-registrar but from a computer operator.