TMI Blog2005 (3) TMI 752X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hort the Code ) it was beyond jurisdiction of the Court to take cognizance of the alleged offences. The stand taken in the petitions was that the alleged acts were directly and reasonably connected with official duty and since there was a direct nexus and relationship between the discharge of his alleged act and the official duties and because of the absence of requisite sanction as contemplated under Section 197 of the Code, cognizance could not have been taken. The plea found favour with the concerned court in the matter of K. Kalimuthu. The State questioned correctness of the judgment by filing revision taking the stand that Section 197 of the Code has no application to the facts of the case. The plea was accepted by the High Court, which is the subject matter of challenge in the appeal relatable to SLP (Crl.) No. 1770/2004. But the plea was not accepted by the concerned court in the other two cases to which the appeals arise out of SLP (Crl.) Nos. 2926/2004 and 681/2005. In these cases High Court rejected the plea raised by the concerned appellants about protections available under Section 197 of the Code. In all the three cases the High Court took the view that the person ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rotect responsible public servants against the institution of possibly vexatious criminal proceedings for offences alleged to have been committed by them while they are acting or purporting to act as public servants. The policy of the legislature is to afford adequate protection to public servants to ensure that they are not prosecuted for anything done by them in the discharge of their official duties without reasonable cause, and if sanction is granted, to confer on the Government, if they choose to exercise it, complete control of the prosecution. This protection has certain limits and is available only when the alleged act done by the public servant is reasonably connected with the discharge of his official duty and is not merely a cloak for doing the objectionable act. If in doing his official duty, he acted in excess of his duty, but there is a reasonable connection between the act and the performance of the official duty, the excess will not be a sufficient ground to deprive the public servant from the protection. The question is not as to the nature of the offence such as whether the alleged offence contained an element necessarily dependent upon the offender being a public ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... racted. An offence may be entirely unconnected with the official duty as such or it may be committed within the scope of the official duty. Where it is unconnected with the official duty there can be no protection. It is only when it is either within the scope of the official duty or in excess of it that the protection is claimable. Section 197(1) and (2) of the Code reads as under: 197. (1) When any person who is or was a Judge or Magistrate or a public servant not removable from his office save by or with the sanction of the Government is accused of any offence alleged to have been committed by him while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty, no Court shall take cognizance of such offence except with the previous sanction - (a) in the case of person who is employed or, as the case may be, was at the time of commission of the alleged offence employed, in connection with the affairs of the Union, of the Central Government; (b) in the case of a person who is employed or, as the case may be, was at the time of commission of the alleged offence employed, in connection with the affairs of a State, of the State Government. (2) No Court shal ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... being the nature of the provision the question is how should the expression, any offence alleged to have been committed by him while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty , be understood? What does it mean? Official according to dictionary, means pertaining to an office, and official act or official duty means an act or duty done by an officer in his official capacity. In B. Saha and Ors. v. M. S. Kochar (1979 (4) SCC 177), it was held : (SCC pp. 184-85, para 17) The words any offence alleged to have been committed by him while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty employed in Section 197(1) of the Code, are capable of a narrow as well as a wide interpretation. If these words are construed too narrowly, the section will be rendered altogether sterile, for, it is no part of an official duty to commit an offence, and never can be . In the wider sense, these words will take under their umbrella every act constituting an offence, committed in the course of the same transaction in which the official duty is performed or purports to be performed. The right approach to the import of these words lies between two extremes. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hout any justification therefor then the bar under Section 197 of the Code is not attracted. To what extent an act or omission performed by a public servant in discharge of his duty can be deemed to be official was explained by this Court in Matajog Dobey v. H. C. Bhari (AIR 1956 SC 44) thus: The offence alleged to have been committed (by the accused) must have something to do, or must be related in some manner with the discharge of official duty ... there must be a reasonable connection between the act and the discharge of official duty; the act must bear such relation to the duty that the accused could lay a reasonable (claim) but not a pretended or fanciful claim, that he did it in the course of the performance of his duty. If on facts, therefore, it is prima facie found that the act or omission for which the accused was charged had reasonable connection with discharge of his duty then it must be held to official to which applicability of Section 197 of the Code cannot be disputed. The above position was highlighted in State of H.P. v. M.P. Gupta (2004 (2) SCC 349), State of orissa through Kumar Raghvendra Singh Ors. v. Ganesh Chandra jew (JT 2004(4) SC 52) and in Shri ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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