K. SREEDHAR RAO, J.

( 1 ) CRIMINAL Petition No. 1232/2001 is filed against the order passed in Special Case No. 43 of 1995 on the file of the Special Judge cum Principal Sessions Judge; Belgaum.

( 2 ) THE petitioner in Crl. P. 1232/2001 is charge-sheeted for an offence punishable under Sections 7, 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act by the Lokayukta Police, Belgaum on the allegation that the petitioner is employed as Assistant Engineer, K. E. B. Belgaum Division. While discharging his official duties alleged to have demanded and accepted illegal gratification of Rs. 30000/- from one Abbasaheb Surendra Hulamani a K. E. S. Contractor to get his bill sanctioned. The Lokayuktha Police laid the trap successfully, on completion of investigation, obtained the sanction order from the Chief Engineer Electricity (General) Bangalore, K. E. S. and filed the charge sheet.

( 3 ) THE accused made an application I. A. I. under Section 227, Cr. P. C. seeking discharge on the ground that no valid sanction is obtained for prosecution under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. 3a. Before the trial Court, the ruling of this Court in Criminal Petition No. 821/96, Jaffar Khan v. State by Police Inspector Bureau of Investigation, Karnataka Lokayukta was relied on in support of the contention that the employees of the K. E. B. are governed by the Karnataka Electricity Board Employees' (Classification, Disciplinary and Control and Appeal) Regulations, 1987 and Regulation 14a. Sub-clause (e) empowers the Board to impose the penalty on the delinquent employee whose alleged misconduct investigated into by the Lokayuktha, therefore argued that sanction accorded by the Chief Engineer is invalid and that the Board alone is competent to accord sanction. The trial Court rejected I. A. I. Being aggrieved, the present petition is filed.

( 4 ) THE provisions of Regulation 10 of the K. E. B. (Classification, Disciplinary and Control and Appeal) Regulation read thus : "10. Disciplinary Authorities.- (1) The Board may impose any of the penalties specified in Regulation 9 on any Board employee. (2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-regulation (1) but subject to the provisions of sub-regulation (3) :- (a) any of the penalties specified in Regulation 9 may be imposed on a Board employee by the Appointing Authority or the authorities specified in the schedules in this behalf, to the extent indicated thereon; (b) without prejudice to sub-regulation (1) and subject to sub-regulation (3) where a Board employee who is a member of any class or grade of the Board (hereinafter, this sub-regulation is referred to as the 'parent service') is deputed for service of any class or grade of another State Service (hereinafter in this sub-regulation referred to as the Deputed Service) the authority which appointed him in the class or grade of the deputed service shall have the powers of Appointing Authority for placing him under suspension and the Disciplinary Authority for the purpose of taking disciplinary proceedings against him: provided that the authority which appointed him in the deputed service shall, as soon as possible inform the Appointing Authority in the parent service the circumstances leading to the order of his suspension or the commencement of the disciplinary proceedings as the case may be. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this regulation, no penalty is prescribed in clauses (v) to (viii) of Regulation 9 shall be imposed by any authority lower than the Appointing Authority. "

( 5 ) IN Schedule VI, the authority empowered to impose both the major and minor penalties envisaged under Regulation 9 is shown to be Zonal Chief Engineer (Electrical General ). In the cases where the Lokayukta or Upa-Lokayukta conducts enquiry on the reference from the Board or any other authority or suo motu Regulation 14a provides the special procedure for imposition of penalties. For convenient reference provisions of Regulation 14a extracted here under:

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