The Supreme Court has acquitted the late Mohanachandran N.K., a lower division clerk in the Passport Office, Thiruvananthapuram, who was convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act. His widow, Mini, challenged the Kerala High Court’s 2020 order that upheld his conviction.
The prosecution alleged that Mohanachandran demanded ₹500 as a bribe for fast-tracking a passport application, apart from the lawful ₹1,000 passport fee. The complainant paid ₹1,200 at the accused’s residence, after which a CBI trap led to his arrest. However, during trial, the complainant did not support the bribery claim.
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The defence maintained that the accused only received the lawful fee and was unaware of any extra ₹200 hidden among the currency notes. The Court noted that there was no reliable evidence proving the accused knew about the excess money or that he counted it.
“If the complainant had offered only the lawful fee, no offence was committed. To prove the offence, there had to be clear proof of demand,” the Bench observed.
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Finding the evidence insufficient and the defence plausible, the Court set aside the conviction and granted the benefit of doubt, ordering that the deceased be treated as acquitted of all charges.
Case Name: Mini vs CBI/SPE Cochin
Jurisdiction: Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction
Case Type & Number: Criminal Appeal (arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 11212/2022)
Date of Judgment: 13 August 2025
