#bribery trap

Calcutta HC rules that conviction under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act does not require direct recovery of bribe money from the accused if circumstantial evidence, such as forensic handling of tainted currency, establishes demand. This precedent strengthens anti-corruption prosecutions by lowering the evidentiary threshold for proving bribery.

The Gauhati High Court denied bail to a public servant caught accepting ₹10 lakh in a CBI sting, ruling that under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, the mere acceptance of a bribe during a trap suffices to establish offence - even without a prior demand. This reinforces that trap-based prosecutions under Section 7 are not contingent on proof of solicitation, strengthening enforcement against public corruption.