Cuttack: Orissa High Court has ruled that "suspicion howsoever strong cannot take the place of proof".

The court gave the ruling while giving benefit of doubt to a public servant and acquitting him of the charges of taking bribe of Rs 1,000, for which Vigilance Court had sentenced him to undergo imprisonment five years ago.

The alleged case of bribe against the public servant was registered as a trap case by State Vigilance over 11 years ago (November 28, 2006). The Special Judge (Vigilance), Berhampur, had convicted and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for six months and pay fine of Rs 500, nearly six years later.

Baisakhu Kumar Karna, a junior clerk in the Boudh district welfare office, challenged it in the high court in 2012. Karna was granted interim bail. His appeal was allowed on Monday.

"I am fully satisfied that sufficient, cogent and reliable evidence is not available on record which established the guilt of the appellant. In the absence of any clinching evidence related to the demand and acceptance of the bribe money by the appellant and the fact that the defence plea of the appellant that the money was thrust into his trousers' pocket is corroborated by the decoy," said the single-judge bench of Justice S.K. Sahoo.

"I am of the view that though there is some suspicion against the appellant, but suspicion howsoever strong cannot take the place of proof. In the circumstances, since the guilt of the appellant has not been established beyond all reasonable doubt, I am constrained to give benefit of doubt to the appellant Baisakhu Kumar Karna," Justice Sahoo ruled.

"In the result, the criminal appeal is allowed. The impugned judgment and order of conviction of the appellant and the sentence passed there under is set aside and the appellant is acquitted of all the charges. The appellant is on bail by virtue of the order of this court. He is discharged from liability of his bail bond. The personal bond and the surety bond stand cancelled," Justice Sahoo said in his March 26 order.