‘Lack of Substantial Evidence’: Orissa HC Acquits Doctor Accused of Taking ₹300 Bribe

The Orissa High Court recently acquitted a doctor who had been accused of accepting a bribe of ₹300 from a patient in 1998 and had been convicted in 2007 by the trial court for the same offense.

A single-judge Justice SK Sahoo, while setting aside the conviction, pointed out that the trial court’s reasoning was flawed and had overlooked credible evidence in favor of the doctor.

The Court determined that the trial court’s judgment was biased and lacked sufficient, coherent, or reliable evidence to establish the doctor’s culpability. Since there was no substantial evidence linking the doctor to the demand and acceptance of the bribe money, the Court held that no guilt could be attributed to him in a reckless manner.

The case against the doctor, Pradeepta Kumar Praharaj, who served as an assistant surgeon at a government hospital in Nabarangpur district, was initiated by the State Vigilance.

The case was filed after ₹300 was found on his office desk, alleged to have been received as an unlawful bribe from a patient on September 14, 1998.

After trial, the Special Judge (Vigilance) in Berhampur found the doctor guilty of soliciting and accepting the bribe. On March 22, 2007, the doctor was sentenced to six months of rigorous imprisonment and fined ₹1,000 under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. In the same year, the doctor lodged a criminal appeal against the conviction in the High Court. He was granted bail and has remained out of custody since then.

The High Court reiterated that the mere recovery of a bribe amount is insufficient to establish guilt without evidence of both the demand and acceptance of the bribe.

Furthermore, the Court questioned the prosecution’s case since the alleged bribe request by the doctor was claimed to have occurred nearly seven days after the patient was discharged from the hospital. Consequently, the Court allowed the doctor’s appeal and acquitted him of all charges in the case.