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23. In his cross-examination on behalf of respondent no.3, it was brought out that PW.15 was associated with the Commission from the year 1972 onwards. He joined as an Assistant and rose to the position of Controller of Examinations. It was suggested to him that Dr. Karnik who became the Chairman of the Commission was responsible for his elevation to the position of Controller of Examinations. It was also brought out that at the time he was appointed as the Controller of Examinations, Mr. Edwankar was senior to him amongst the Deputy Secretaries. PW.15 asserted that he got the post on the basis of seniority and accepted it, though he was reluctant. It was a post that carried a huge responsibility. He agreed with the suggestion that two reasons combine insofar as what came to be called the Scam of 1999. They were, one of letting every candidate appear for the Main Examination and secondly the decision to re-scan the answer sheets. He also admitted that some persons had collected money from the candidates promising that they would be allowed to take the Main Examination. Those candidates were the unsuccessful ones in the Preliminary Examination. It was also brought out that based on a conspiracy, the candidates who had failed were induced to hold a demonstration in front of the office of the Commission so that the Commission could take a fresh decision based on their alleged grievance. It was also brought out that the meeting with regard to the 1999 re- examination took place on 29.11.2000, at a time when respondent no.3 had not joined the Commission. To a question, he answered that answer sheets of those from whom money had been taken, were to be changed, but it became impossible because of him, because he refused to be a part of the game. He stated that there were lot of complaints and Public Interest Litigations in the High Court and as a result of those complaints, the charge of Controller of Examinations came to be taken away from him pursuant to the order of 8.4.2002 passed by Mr Wani who was then the Acting Chairman of the Commission. He also admitted that in May 2002, the Secretary to the Commission Mrs. Seema Dhamdhere had commenced her enquiry. He also admitted that he was the first person to be arrested in connection with the M.P.S.C. Scam. He was arrested on 29.6.2002. He also stated in paragraph 24 that : "Till I gave my confessional statement I did not write any letter or written intimation either to the court or to the police about the involvement of the respondent Mrs. Joshi." He asserted that loss of face had led to his repentance and that had induced him to make the confession before the Metropolitan Magistrate. It was suggested to him that a complaint file came to be opened against him containing personal allegations and the allegations were about his misbehaviour with lady employees. It was suggested to him that he had a special relationship with Dr. Karnik and Dr. Karnik had deliberately shut his eyes to the existence of the personal file of complaints against him while promoting him as the Controller of Examinations. He admitted that he was called up and a written intimation was also sent to him from the Commission with regard to the affidavit in chief examination that he had filed in this reference. He knew that he was swearing to the affidavit as a witness. He was aware that he would be a witness against one of the accused in favour of the prosecution. Then he stated : "It is not true that I gave the confessional statement falsely to save myself. It is not true that I swore to the affidavit in this reference falsely to save myself. It is not true that a promise was held out that if I made a confessional statement and swore the affidavit I would be made approver and I would get free from the botheration of the prosecution. It is not true that I never felt any repentance. It is not true that this stand is adopted by me to save my skin." (paragraph 31). Regarding the meeting with respondent no.3 this was what was brought out "I cannot mention the date but it was in April 2002 that according to me the respondent called me. It was either in the second or third week of April 2002. I did not tell this fact to anybody that the respondent had called me as just mentioned. She had called me to her chamber in the office and told me to meet her at her residence. The date was not fixed on which I should see her at her residence. I had mentioned in my confessional statement that this event took place sometime in April-May 2002. It is true that in the confessional statement the date 25.4.2002 was not specifically mentioned by me. In my confessional statement I did not mention that I met the respondent on 1.5.2002. In fact there is no mention of my second visit at all in my confessional statement. I did not disclose to anybody in the office of the Commission the fact of my visit to the residence of the respondent either on 25.4.2002 or 1.5.2002. I had not mentioned in my confession that I made entry in the visitors book when I visited the residence of the respondent. I had not given the list of the 24 candidates either in my confessional statement or in my affidavit in this reference (see page no.3 of the affidavit)." (paragraph 32). He admitted that :

24. The confessional statement marked Ext.53 was also proved through the Metropolitan Magistrate who recorded it examined as PW.14. In his chief examination PW.14 submitted that he was working as Metropolitan Magistrate, 23rd Court, Esplanade, Mumbai. Then Sorode (PW.15) was produced before him as per the directions of the Sessions Court, Mumbai. Sarode was produced from custody in the Central Jail. He stated that when PW.15 was produced before him he asked all police personnel and other persons to vacate this Court. He confirmed from the witness that no body connected with this case was present in the Court and allowed only two constables on duty in the Court for his safety to be present. When PW.15 wanted to make the statement voluntarily he had put certain questions and recorded the answers. The witness had stated that he wanted to make a confessional statement. He had on the first day sent PW.15 back to custody with a direction that he be produced again on 25.11.2002. On 25.11.2002 he again asked PW.15 whether he wanted to make a confession and he stated that he wanted to make a confession voluntarily. He also ascertained that PW.15 had not been ill-treated while in custody. PW.15 had told him that he was repenting for the act done by him and that had induced him to make a confessional statement and to reveal the truth and to help the law. PW.14 had given PW.15 further 24 hours to rethink on his wanting to make a confession and had directed that he be produced before him on 26.11.2002 but PW.15 was produced before him on 28.11.2002 due to some administrative reason. After ascertaining that the confession was being made freely and on his own volition by PW.15, he recorded the confessional statement. He recorded it after ensuring that no one interested in the case was present in court. After the completion of the recording of the confessional statement, he obtained the signature of PW.15 in the recorded statement. He also countersigned it. He, thereafter, endorsed that the statement was recorded in his presence and it was a full and true account of what PW.15 had stated. Before he made the confession he had issued a warning to PW.15 that he was not bound to make any confession but if he made one, the same would be used as evidence against him. He also certified the grounds on which he believed that the confession was genuine and recorded the precautions taken by him while recording the confessional statement. He put the confessional statement in a sealed cover and submitted the same on 28.11.2002 to the Registrar, City Sessions Court, Greater Mumbai in compliance with the order of the Sessions Judge, Greater Mumbai. In his cross-examination, at the instance of respondent no.3, he reiterated that PW.15 was brought before him on two or three occasions before he recorded the confession. He had recorded the entire confession in the open Court. The doors were all kept open. PW.15 was making the statement in the form of narrative and the confessional statement was dictated by PW.14 to the Typist. He interrupted PW.15 only when he found that PW.15 was mentioning something that was unnecessary or was getting unnecessarily verbose or irrelevant. There was no mention of these interjections in the confessional statement recorded by him. The basis for deciding that a particular statement was irrelevant was whether he travelled beyond the scope of MPSC case. The facts of the MPSC case were mentioned in the letter that was given to him by the prosecution. That letter was handed over to him about four days before the recording of the confessional statement. He had asked the questions in Marathi and not in English. He had translated the statement into English. He was also a Maharashtrian and his mother tongue was Marathi. PW.15 was fluently talking in Marathi. He was conversant with the provisions of Criminal Manual. It was true that there was a provision in the Manual that as far as possible such statement should be recorded in the language of the accused and if it was not practical then in the language of the Court in English. He became aware of the contents of the confessional statement since he had dictated it and read it over to PW.15. There were two parts in the confession, namely, relating to some of the accused in the first part and relating to the respondent in the second part. In the first part there was a reference to the main conspiracy and also a reference to his own participation in the said conspiracy. Going through the second part that pertains to the respondent he could say that PW.15 did not mention that he agreed with the proposal of the respondent. It appears that as far as the respondent was concerned according to PW.15, either he declined the proposal of the respondent or he was just a listener thereof. He agreed that it would have been better to have recorded the confessional statement in Marathi. He came to know through a police officer, sometime in January 2006, that he had to file an affidavit before this Court. The officer concerned was ACP Poojari. He did not sign the affidavit on the same day that the ACP visited him. First of all he addressed a communication to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate informing him that he had been asked to submit the affidavit he had submitted in this Court as per a letter of the Secretary of the Commission. The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate had written to the Secretary of the Commission that being a judicial officer, PW.14 was not supposed to file such an affidavit. But he was informed that filing of the affidavit was necessitated as per the directions of this Court. It was only thereafter he signed the affidavit in chief examination. He had told the officer concerned that he had only recorded the confessional statement of PW.15 and that his affidavit should remain restricted only to the statement of those facts. He had indicated what should be the contents of the affidavit and thereafter it was drafted and shown to him. The officer had brought it to him, he had read it and signed it. He had told the officer that he had nothing to do with the respondent and his affidavit should be restricted only to the recording of the confessional statement of PW.15.