In the judgment in T. K. Krishnankutty v. State of Kerala [2025 0 KER 24020], the High Court of Kerala held that proof of demand and acceptance of illegal gratification is a sine qua non for a conviction under Sections 7 and 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988.
The court relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in Neeraj Dutta v. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi) [(2023) 4 SCC 731], specifically paragraph 88(e), which states that if foundational facts are established, a court may presume that a demand and acceptance of illegal gratification has occurred.
Therefore, the evidence of witnesses and other circumstances must be examined in the light of this principle to determine if the appellant demanded gratification.
