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State Of Punjab v. Labh Singh .
Factual and Procedural Background
FIR No. 57 dated 13-8-1997 was registered by the Vigilance Bureau, Patiala, alleging that four repair projects on the Bhakra Main Line were executed without prior preparation of mandatory cross-sections and estimates, causing an alleged loss of ₹3,69,603 to the State exchequer. The investigation named two public servants—Sikandar Singh (Sub-Divisional Officer) and Labh Singh (Junior Engineer)—along with five private individuals.
Both public servants retired (Sikandar Singh on 13-12-1999 and Labh Singh on 30-4-2000). The competent department twice refused sanction to prosecute them—first on 13-9-2000 and again on 24-9-2003. Nevertheless, a challan under Section 173 CrPC was filed on 9-11-2004 before the Special Judge, Patiala. On 7-6-2005 the Special Judge framed six charges, one under Section 13(1)(c) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act) and five under the Penal Code.
Sikandar Singh and Labh Singh challenged the framing of charges in Criminal Revision No. 1743 of 2005. By judgment dated 17-1-2006, the High Court of Punjab and Haryana set aside the Special Judge’s order, holding that cognizance was barred for want of sanction under Section 197 CrPC and Section 19 PC Act. The State of Punjab obtained special leave to appeal; during pendency, Sikandar Singh died and his name was deleted, leaving Labh Singh as sole respondent.
Legal Issues Presented
- Whether prior sanction under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act is necessary to prosecute public servants who have already retired at the time the court takes cognizance.
- Whether, for offences under the Penal Code, the protection of Section 197 CrPC continues after a public servant’s retirement when sanction has been expressly refused by the competent authority.
- Whether the High Court was correct in quashing all charges framed by the Special Judge, Patiala.
Arguments of the Parties
Appellant (State of Punjab)
- Contended that no previous sanction under Section 197 CrPC or Section 19 PC Act is required once the accused public servants have retired.
- Denied any discrimination; asserted that serving officials would be prosecuted once they retire.
- Urged that the High Court’s order was legally erroneous and that the Special Judge rightly framed all charges.
Respondent (Labh Singh)
- Supported the High Court’s view that cognizance without sanction was barred.
- Relied on Section 197 CrPC to argue that protection extends even after retirement, making prosecution without sanction unlawful.
Table of Precedents Cited
| Precedent | Rule or Principle Cited For | Application by the Court |
|---|---|---|
| S.A. Venkataraman v. State, AIR 1958 SC 107 | No sanction is required under the predecessor of Section 19 PC Act if the accused had ceased to be a public servant when the court takes cognizance. | Followed to hold that sanction under Section 19 PC Act was unnecessary because the respondents had retired before cognizance. |
| C.R. Bansi v. State of Maharashtra | Reaffirmed the Venkataraman principle regarding absence of necessity of sanction after retirement. | Cited to buttress the conclusion that the High Court erred in quashing the PC Act charge. |
| Kalicharan Mahapatra v. State of Orissa | Same principle: sanction not required when the accused is not a serving public servant. | Relied upon for the same proposition. |
| K. Veeraswami v. Union of India, (1991) 3 SCC 655 (Constitution Bench) | Sanction under Section 19 PC Act becomes redundant once the public servant retires. | Used to reinforce the applicability of the above rule. |
| State of Himachal Pradesh v. Nishant Sareen, (2010) 14 SCC 527 | When sanction is refused, prosecution must either challenge the refusal or seek fresh sanction upon new material. | Cited to uphold the High Court’s quashing of IPC charges because sanction had been refused and not challenged. |
Court's Reasoning and Analysis
The Supreme Court drew a clear distinction between the statutory regimes governing offences under the PC Act and those under the Penal Code:
- PC Act charge: Relying on Venkataraman and its progeny, the Court held that Section 19 PC Act does not require prior sanction where the accused has already ceased to be a public servant when the court takes cognizance. Since both Sikandar Singh and Labh Singh retired before the Special Judge’s order, the High Court erred in quashing the PC Act charge.
- IPC charges: Section 197 CrPC expressly extends its protection beyond retirement. Because the competent authority had twice refused sanction (13-9-2000 and 24-9-2003), the Special Judge lacked jurisdiction to take cognizance of IPC offences. The Court accepted the High Court’s view that, absent a successful challenge to the refusal or new material, prosecution could not proceed on IPC counts.
- The Court criticised the State’s litigation strategy, observing that prosecution may not deliberately await a public servant’s retirement to circumvent sanction requirements.
Holding and Implications
PARTLY ALLOWED. The Supreme Court reinstated the charge under Section 13(1)(c) read with Section 13(2) of the PC Act while affirming the High Court’s quashing of all Penal Code charges.
Consequently, Labh Singh will face trial solely under the PC Act. The decision clarifies that:
- Sanction under Section 19 PC Act is unnecessary against retired officials, but
- Protection under Section 197 CrPC endures post-retirement, making prior sanction indispensable for IPC offences unless the refusal is overturned or revisited on fresh material.
No broader precedent was set beyond reaffirming settled principles, but the Court expressly disapproved of prosecutorial tactics aimed at evading sanction by waiting for an officer’s retirement.
Uday U. Lalit, J.— This appeal by special leave challenges the judgment and order dated 17-1-2006 passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Sikandar Singh v. State of Punjab Criminal Revision No. 1743 of 2005 whereby it set aside the order of the Special Judge, Patiala dated 7-6-2005 framing charges against one Sikandar Singh and the present respondent.
2. FIR No. 57 was lodged with Police Station, Vigilance Bureau, Patiala Range, Patiala on 13-8-1997. It was alleged that semi-Government Letter dated 4-3-1994 had stated that pursuant to certain raids conducted at the site for checking the earthwork done on Bhakra main line, it was found that as regards four projects cross-sections/estimates were not prepared before doing any work and that it appeared that the estimates were actually prepared by the government servants concerned after completion of work thereby violating provisions of the PWD Code and causing loss to the tune of Rs 3,69,603 to the exchequer. Pursuant to the said FIR crime was registered and investigation was undertaken by the Vigilance Bureau.
3. When request was made for grant of sanction to prosecute the government servants in question, it was refused by the department on 13-9-2000. Yet another attempt was made in the year 2003 requesting sanction to prosecute but such request was again rejected by the department on 24-9-2003. Despite such refusal for issuance of sanction, challan under Section 173 of the Criminal Procedure Code was filed on 9-11-2004 in the Court of Additional Sessions Judge/Special Judge, Patiala.
4. The allegations in the challan dated 9-11-2004 were to the following effect:
“During the checking of the aforesaid works, it was found that regarding the work done on the abovementioned 4 works, cross-sections/estimates, etc. have not been prepared, which is mandatory before doing any work. From this, it appears that after completing the work, this was done to prepare cross-sections estimates according to their own wish by the suspected officers. Checking memo was prepared at the spot, upon which signatures of Junior Engineer and Sub-Divisional Engineer concerned were obtained, who admitted that before doing the aforesaid works, they did not prepare any cross-section or estimates. From this, it is clearly established that the suspected officer did not get prepared the cross-sections and estimates for embezzling the government treasury at a large scale. In the aforesaid works, for starting/finishing the repair works without preparing estimates, the following officers are responsible.”
The challan so presented had arrayed two public servants, namely, Shri Sikandar Singh, SDO and Shri Labh Singh, Junior Engineer in addition to five private individuals. Shri Sikandar Singh and Shri Labh Singh had retired on 13-12-1999 and 30-4-2000, respectively i.e even before the request for issuance of sanction was rejected on the first occasion. The aspect regarding their retirement and refusal to grant sanction was dealt with in the challan in following terms:
“In view of the refusal of granting sanction for prosecution by the department, it is impossible to present challan against the employees who are in service, but the employees who have retired, challan can be presented against them in the court.”
5. The Special Judge framed charges on 7-6-2005 against all seven accused for the offences under Sections 218/409/465/467/120-B IPC and under Section 13(1)(c) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (“the PC Act”, for short). Out of six charges framed, one pertained to the offence under Section 13(1)(c) read with Section 13(2) of the PC Act while other five related to the offences under the Penal Code, 1860.
6. The public servants, namely, Sikandar Singh and Labh Singh challenged the aforesaid order dated 7-6-2005 by filing Criminal Revision No. 1743 of 2005 in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. The High Court took the view that the department had refused sanction to prosecute public servants and yet a challan was presented on the premise that no sanction was required after retirement of those public servants. The High Court observed:
“These petitioners and others have been charged for offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act and also for the offences under the Penal Code. Section 197 CrPC bars cognizance by the Court of an offence by a public servant even after retirement. Even otherwise, it is discriminatory for the petitioners when other co-accused who are still in service, cannot be prosecuted for want of sanction and present petitioners are being prosecuted only because they have retired.”
The High Court allowed the petition and set aside the order dated 7-6-2005 passed by the Special Judge, Patiala.
7. This appeal by the State of Punjab takes exception to the order of the High Court. During the pendency of this appeal the first respondent Sikandar Singh expired and his name was deleted from the array of parties vide order dated 20-9-2010 passed by this Court, leaving Labh Singh as the only respondent before the Court. The stand taken in the petition of appeal on behalf of the appellant is as under:
“It is humbly submitted that order passed by the Hon'ble High Court is erroneous in law as under Section 197 CrPC the respondents can be convicted and no previous sanction is required as the respondents are no longer in service and have been retired in the years 1999/2000. Secondly, there was no discrimination as the other persons were in service and since the respondents have been retired no previous sanction is required. It was also submitted that other persons will also be prosecuted as and when they are retired.”
8. Appearing for the State Mr Sanchar Anand, learned Advocate submitted that sanction to prosecute was not required at all. Ms Jaspreet Gogia, learned Advocate appearing for the respondent supported the view taken by the High Court.
9. In the present case the public servants in question had retired on 13-12-1999 and 30-4-2000. The sanction to prosecute them was rejected subsequent to their retirement i.e first on 13-9-2000 and later on 24-9-2003. The public servants having retired from service there was no occasion to consider grant of sanction under Section 19 of the PC Act. The law on the point is quite clear that sanction to prosecute the public servant for the offences under the PC Act is not required if the public servant had already retired on the date of cognizance by the court. In S.A Venkataraman v. State AIR 1958 SC 107, 1958 Cri LJ 254, 1958 SCR 1040 while construing Section 6(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 which provision is in pari materia with Section 19(1) of the PC Act, this Court held that no sanction was necessary in the case of a person who had ceased to be the public servant at the time the court was asked to take cognizance. The view taken in S.A Venkataraman AIR 1958 SC 107, 1958 Cri LJ 254, 1958 SCR 1040 was adopted by this Court in C.R Bansi v. State of Maharashtra (1970) 3 SCC 537 and in Kalicharan Mahapatra v. State of Orissa (1998) 6 SCC 411 and by the Constitution Bench of this Court in K. Veeraswami v. Union of India (1991) 3 SCC 655. The High Court was not therefore justified in setting aside the order passed by the Special Judge insofar as charge under the PC Act was concerned.
10. However as regards charges for the offences punishable under the Penal Code, the High Court was absolutely right in setting aside the order of the Special Judge. Unlike Section 19 of the PC Act, the protection under Section 197 CrPC is available to the public servant concerned even after retirement. Therefore, if the matter was considered by the sanctioning authority and the sanction to prosecute was rejected first on 13-9-2000 and secondly on 24-9-2003, the Court could not have taken cognizance insofar as the offences punishable under the Penal Code are concerned. As laid down by this Court in State of H.P v. Nishant Sareen (2010) 14 SCC 527, the recourse in such cases is either to challenge the order of the sanctioning authority or to approach it again if there is any fresh material.
11. In the circumstances, in our view the order under appeal passed by the High Court is correct insofar as charges under IPC are concerned but must be set aside as regards charge under the PC Act is concerned.
12. Before we part, we must record that we do not approve the stand taken by the appellant in the petition. The prosecution cannot keep waiting till a public servant retires and then choose to file charge-sheet against him after his retirement, thereby setting at naught the protection available to him under Section 19 of the PC Act. The appeal, thus, stands allowed partly. No order as to costs.
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