Virendra Vikram Singh, J. - (1.) BY moving the present application under Section 482 Cr.P.C., the applicant, constable Tek Chandra, has requested that chargesheet against him in Case Crime No. 312 of 2011, under Sections 223 and 224 I.P.C., Police Station Janakpuri, District Saharanpur, be quashed along with entire proceedings in Case Crime No. 358 of 2012 arising out of the above chargesheet. It has been argued that the applicant at the time of occurrence was a constable and, as such, he being a public servant, the prosecution against him without obtaining this sanction is legally not maintainable and, as such, the entire proceedings deserves to be quashed being violative of Section 197 Cr.P.C.
(2.) HEARD learned counsel for the applicant and learned AGA for the State. The only question to be decided is whether any person is immune from being prosecuted on the sole ground that he was public servant at the time when the offence is to have been committed by him.
(3.) SECTION 197 Cr.P.C. reads as follows: - Prosecution of Judges and public servants -(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 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 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; (Provided that where the alleged offence was committed by a person referred to in clause (b) during the period while a Proclamation issued under clause (1) of Article 356 of the Constitution was in force in a State, clause (b) will apply as if for the expression "State Government" occurring therein, the expression "Central Government" were substituted.);