Judgment

CHANDRACHUD, C. J.:- This Special Leave Petition is filed by the State of West Bengal against judgment of acquittal dated August 1, 1980, passed by the High Court of Calcutta in Criminal Appeal No. 18 of 1980.

2. The respondents, who are all Police Officers, were tried by the learned Judge, City Sessions Court, Calcutta, under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Penal Code, on the charge that at about 10.00 p. m. on November 11, 1970, they, along with Bibhuti Chakraborty, the then Deputy Commissioner of Police (North Division), P. R.. Dey, the then Assistant Commissioner of Police (N. S.) and some others, caused the death of Ranjit Chakraborty and Samir Chakraborty by causing them gunshot injuries.

3. The case of the prosecution is that the deceased Ranjit and his brother Samir were siting outside their house when three police vehicles carrying the respondents and other Police officers, numbering about 15 or 20 in all, suddenly stopped in front of the house. The Police officers, led by Bibhuti Chakraborty, rushed towards them and their elder brother Benoy, with revolvers in their hands. Ranjit disclosed that he was a constable of the Calcutta Police and Samir said that he was an N. V. F. cadet. Bibhuti Chakraborty then fired a shot from his revolver at Ranjit from a point-blank range. Respondent 2, Chitta Ranjan Ganguly, and respondent 4, Bimal Thakur, pursued Ranjit who had in the meanwhile rushed into his house. They dragged him out of the house, whereupon respondent 4 fired a shot at him. The other Police officers, including some of the respondents, also fired at Ranjit. In the meantime, the other brother Samir who was trying to get into the house, was caught hold of by some of the respondents and respondent 1, Shew Mangal Singh, fired a shot at him. Samir and Ranjit were thereafter dumped into a Police jeep and the convoy of the Police officers went to a place near Rajarghat on the bank of the river Hooghly. Samir was crying in agony. Some of the Police officers, who were sitting in an Ambassador car, ordered that Samirs voice should be silenced. Thereupon respondent 3 Anil Maitra, who was sitting in a jeep, fired a shot at him. Ranjit and Samir were then taken to R. G. Kar Hospital, where Ranjit was declared dead. Samir died within a few minutes thereafter, before any medical assistance could be given to him. Their brother Benoy was taken into custody by the Police officers and was produced before a Magistrate on the following day, when he was released on bail.

4. The defence of the respondents is that they were on patrol duty led by Bibhuti Chakraborty, the Deputy Commissioner of Police. When the police party entered Shyampukur Street, they were attacked by some persons, as a result of which respondent 1 Shew Mangal Singh was injured. He was immediately removed by respondent 2 and P. R. Dey, the Assistant Commissioner of Police, to the R. G. Kar Hospital. Thereafter the Deputy Commissioner of Police gave firing orders, as a result of which Ranjit and Samir received injuries. The contention of respondents I and 2 is that they were implicated falsely in the case after an attempt to pressurise them into deposing against the Deputy Commissioner had failed.

5. The prosecution was initiated on the basis of a private complaint filed on December 22, 1970 by Benoy Chakraborty (P. W. 1). In addition to the four respondents, Deputy Commissioner Bibhuti Chakraborty and Assistant Commissioner P. R. Dey were also included in the array of the accused. The learned Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Calcutta, issued process against the respondents but refused to do so against the two other officers on the ground of want of sanction for their prosecution under Section 197 of the C.P.C.

6. The complainant applied for sanction under S. 197 Cr. P.C., for the prosecution of the two officers but his application was rejected. In July 1977, after the change of the Government, the complainant filed another application for sanction,