JUDGMENT

D.A. Desai, J.

Respondent Abdul Rehman Antulay (hereinafter referred to as the accused) was the Chief Minister of the State of Maharashtra from 1980 till he submitted his resignation on January 20, 1982, which became effective from January 20, 1982. He thus ceased to hold the office of the Chief Minister from January 20, 1982 but continues to be a sitting member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly till today.

2. As the contentions canvassed before this Court are mainly questions of law, facts at this stage having a peripheral relevance in the course of discussion, it is unnecessary to set out the prosecution case as disclosed in the complaint filed by complainant Ramdas Shrinivas Nayak (complainant for short) in detail save and except few a pertinent and relevant allegations. In the process the brief history or the litigation may also be traced.

3. The complainant moved the Governor cf Maharashtra by his application dated September 1, 1981 requesting him to grant sanction to prosecute the accused as required by Section 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 ('1947 Act' for short) for various offences alleged to have been committed by the accused and neatly set out in