State Through Deputy Superintendent of Police Vs R. Soundirarasu ETC. (Supreme Court of India)
These appeals before the Supreme Court arise from two judgments of the Madras High Court dated 27 April 2017, through which the High Court allowed criminal revision applications filed by the accused and discharged them from prosecution under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 109 of the Indian Penal Code. The appeals are filed by the State of Tamil Nadu through the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Salem District. As both matters raise identical issues, they were heard together and are decided by a common judgment.
The respondents are husband and wife. Respondent No. 1, R. Soundirarasu, served as a Motor Vehicle Inspector (Grade-I) at Namakkal during the relevant check period between 1 January 2002 and 31 March 2004. Respondent No. 2, Suguna, is his wife. She is a commerce graduate and claims to have an independent source of income. She was a partner in a business named S.K. Mat Industries with another partner, R. Kumar, from 23 October 1993 until the partnership was dissolved on 31 March 2003. After dissolution, she continued the business as its sole proprietor. She asserts that she has been paying income tax since 1990 and that her returns have been regularly assessed.
