Recovery of Tainted Money Not Enough for Conviction Without Proof of Demand for Bribe

Mere recovery of tainted money is insufficient to trigger the presumption of guilt under Section 20 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, unless the entire chain of events i.e., the demand, acceptance, and recovery is established, says the Supreme Court (SC) in State of Lokayuktha Police Davangere v C B Nagaraj [2025 INSC 736].

Just because money changed hands, it cannot be ipso facto presumed that it was pursuant to a demand.

Reference

1. State of Lokayuktha Police Davangere v C B Nagaraj [2025 INSC 736]