Viscount Maugham:-

Their Lordships do not require to hear counsel for the Crown. This is an application for special leave to appeal in forma pauperis from a judgment of the Federal Court of India and it has the distinction of being the first application for such leave from that Court. The question which arises is as to the true construction of S. 270, sub-s. 1, Government of India Act, 1935. It is in these terms: “No proceedings, civil or criminal, shall be instituted against any person in respect of any act done or purporting to be done in execution of his duty as a servant of the Crown in India or Burma before the relevant date,” which is 1st April 1937, “except with the consent,” putting it shortly as applying to this particular case, “of the Governor” of the Province in which the petitioner was employed. It is perfectly clear, therefore, that this section is in the nature of an exceptional section which is intended to afford some measure of protection to certain public servants in relation to acts done or purported to be done in execution of their duty, being acts done before the date in question. Their Lordships ought not to forget the fact that the matter has been before the F