The Supreme Court in an important decision recently directed prosecution of an Andhra Pradesh police officer in a bribery case despite the State making attempts to drop his prosecution owing to his meritorious track record.
The bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra found fault with the State’s action as it felt that a police officer accused of bribery could not be let off in this manner as it would be detrimental to public interest and send a wrong message to society.
The accused police officer Bairam Murlidhar had lost before the trial court and High Court, both ruling concurrently against dropping of prosecution against him. Dealing with his appeal, the bench said, “Regard being had to the gravity of the offence and the impact on public life….we are inclined to think that there is no ground to show that such withdrawal would advance the cause of justice and serve the public interest." The incident was of 2006 when the Anti-Corruption Bureau caught the officer red-handed accepting bribe of Rs 5,000 from a man whom he threatened to frame in a case of kidnapping. The state supported the officer as he maintained an excellent track record for his anti-Naxal operations.