IMPORTANT POINTS
Complaint u/s 199(2) and (4) should have reasonable connection with discharge of public duties by or the office of the public servant or the public functionary.
Complaint filed by public prosecutor without scrutinizing the sanction would not be maintainable.
When the complaint is held not maintainable, conviction, sentence and appeal theragainst all become non est.

JUDGMENT

Ranjan Gogoi, J.

Leave granted.

2. By the order impugned, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh has negatived the challenge made by the appellant to the maintainability of a criminal prosecution/proceeding instituted under Section 199(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as "Cr.P.C.") alleging commission of offences under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as "IPC") against the Hon'ble Chief Minister of the State of Madhya Pradesh. The complaint has been filed by the Public Prosecutor on 24th June, 2014 before the District & Sessions Judge, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) after receipt of sanction from the Competent Authority of the State Government on the very same day i.e. 24th June, 2014.

3. At the very outset, we deem it necessary to put on record that during the pendency of the present proceedings the prosecution against the accused appellant has been concluded by the learned Special Judge, Prevention of Corruption Act, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh by judgment and order dated 17th November, 2017 in Sessions Trial No.573 of 2014. The accused appellant has been found guilty of the commission of the offence punishable under Section 500 IPC and, accordingly, he has been sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for two years with fine of Rs. 25,000/- (Rupees twenty thousand). We are told at the Bar that an appeal against the said order is presently pending before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh and the accused appellant is presently on bail.

4. At this stage, we would like to recapitulate our order dated 5th January, 2018 reiterating that, notwithstanding the conviction of the accused appellant, this Court would like to consider the question of the validity of the very initiation of the prosecution against the appellant.

5. While Section 499 IPC defines and deals with the offence of defamation, punishment for the said offence is provided by Section 500 IPC. In the present case, the alleged offence of defamation against the Hon'ble Chief Minister of the State of Madhya Pradesh, according to the prosecution, has been committed by the accused appellant on account of certain statements made with regard to the Hon'ble Chief Minister in the course of a Press Conference that the appellant had addressed as a Chief Spokesperson of the Indian National Congress, Madhya Pradesh organized on 21st June, 2014 at the MP Congress Committee, 1461 Indra Bhawan Shivaji Nagar, Bhopal.

6. Though a reading of the transcript of the Press Conference, which has been placed on record, may indicate a reference to the Hon'ble Chief Minister in respect of several acts and events, for the purposes of the present case we will, necessarily, have to confine ourselves to only three statements allegedly made in the Press Conference with reference to the Hon'ble Chief Minister. This is because in the order granting sanction/permission dated 24th June, 2014 for filing of a complaint under Section 199 (2) Cr.P.C. it is only the aforesaid three statements which have been taken note of as being defamatory and, therefore, taken cognizance for purpose of grant of sanction/permission under Section 199(2) of the Cr.P.C. The aforesaid three statements mentioned in the order dated 24th June, 2014 granting sanction/permission are as follows:

"1. 19 amongst the Transport Inspection appointed in Madhya Pradesh are from the in-laws house Gondiya (Maharashtra) of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

2. Conversation has been made with the accused persons of the Vyapam Scam from the mobile of Sanjay Chouhan son of Phoolsingh Chouhan-Mama of the Chief Minister Sh. Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

3. Conversation has been made from the Chief Minister's house by an influential woman through 139 phone calls with the accused of Vyapam Scam Nitin Mahendra, Pankaj Trivedi, Lakshmikant Sharma."

7. Section 199(2) Cr.P.C. provides for a special procedure with regard to initiation of a prosecution for offence of defamation committed against the co