The Supreme Court has expressed surprise over currency notes recovered from a Bihar woman officer convicted of corruption being destroyed by rodents, even as it suspended her sentence and ordered her release on bail.“We are taken by surprise that the currency notes got destroyed by rodents. We wonder how many such currency notes recovered in this type of offences get destroyed as they are not kept at a safe place. It’s a huge revenue loss for the State. Besides, the explanation offered for the destruction of the currency notes also does not inspire any confidence,” a Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan said.The currency notes were allegedly destroyed by rodents due to poor storage conditions in the police malkhana where seized case property is kept.Noting that it was something which it should not ignore, the Bench said, “We shall look into this issue as and when the main matter is taken up for hearing.”The petitioner woman was serving as a Child Development Programme Officer when she allegedly demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs 10,000 from the complainant in 2014.She was put to trial for the offence punishable under Sections 7 and 13(2) respectively, of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (for short, “the Act, 1988”). The trial court acquitted her of all the charges.However, on an appeal filed by the department, the Patna High Court reversed her acquittal and held her guilty of the alleged offence. She was sentenced to undergo four years of rigorous imprisonment for the offence punishable under Section 13(2) of the Act, 1988, and three-year of rigorous imprisonment for the offence punishable under Section 7 of the Act, 1988. However, she was granted exemption from surrendering by the top court.In its April 24 order, the top court said, “The substantive order of sentence passed by the High Court is ordered to be suspended, and the appellant shall be released on bail subject to terms and conditions that the Trial Court may deem fit to impose.”In its order, the high court had noted that in Police Malkhana register, receipt of an envelope containing bribe money in connection with the instant case was duly recorded but as a result of improper condition of Malkhana and lack of up to date preservation system, the envelope along with currency notes were destroyed by rodents.“For destruction of the seized money, which was recovered from the possession of the accused, the prosecution case cannot be held to be not proved. In many cases, seized articles may not be produced during trial for one reason or the other,” the High Court had said reversing the petitioner’s acquittal.“Even the subject matter of offence, sometimes cannot be recovered by the investigating agency in many cases, corpus delicti, is destroyed by the offenders. Even under such circumstances an accused can be convicted if other surrounding circumstances point at the guilt of the accused without any reasonable doubt,” the High Court had said.