Point of Law: Section 197 of CrPC reads as prosecution of Judges and public servants.

ORDER :

The petitioner, common in all these cases, calls in question similar but separate charge sheets filed by the Police and all of them are pending as different criminal cases on such charge sheets. In the light of the petitioner being the same and the issue being similar, all these cases are taken up together and considered by this common order. For the sake of convenience the facts obtaining in Criminal Petition No.7507 of 2022 which are similar in all these cases are narrated briefly.

2. Heard Sri B.R. Manjunath, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Smt. K.P. Yashoda, learned High Court Government Pleader appearing for respondent No.1 in all these cases.

3. The petitioner is an employee of the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj. The employment of the petitioner is not the issue in the lis. During the years 2009 and 2010 certain works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (‘MGNREGA’ for short) were entrusted to several Gram Panchayats of Arkalgud Taluk. The petitioner then was working as Executive Officer of Arkalgud Taluk Panchayat. Alleging that the petitioner had misappropriated funds of MGNREGA, a complaint comes to be registered by the 2nd respondent against several persons/accused. The petitioner is accused No.1. The allegation against the petitioner was that he had executed works without obtaining necessary permission from other Departments concerning the technical implementation of works under MGNREGA. Due to the act of the petitioner in getting the works executed without such clearances from respective Departments, it is alleged that huge loss is caused to Government. The police conduct investigation for five long years and file charge sheets in all these cases. Criminal Petition No.7507 of 2022 concerns C.C.No.673 of 2016 pending before the Civil Judge & JMFC, Arkalgud. In all the cases, the allegations against the petitioner or any other accused, are the offences punishable under Sections 408 and 409 r/w Section 34 of the IPC. Though charge sheets were filed in the year 2016, the petitioner chose not to challenge the same at that point in time.

4. Simultaneously, departmental enquiry was also initiated against the petitioner on the same set of facts. In the departmental enquiry, it transpires, the findings of the Inquiry Officer are that the charges are not proved and that acts of the petitioner have not caused any loss to the State exchequer. Once that communication comes about on 06-02-2020, the petitioner springs into action by raising a challenge to the continuation of proceedings in the charge sheets challenged in the cases at hand. It is, therefore, the charge sheets of the year 2016 come to be challenged in the year 2022.

5. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would seek to urge two grounds in support of the prayers that are sought viz., (i) cognizance is taken by the learned Magistrate in all these cases without there being sanction to prosecute the petitioner and it is in violation of Section 197 of the CrPC and (ii) the findings of the Enquiry Officer in the departmental enquiry are that the charges are not proved and there is no loss caused to the exchequer by the acts of the petitioner. On these two grounds, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would contend that continuation of criminal proceedings against the petitioner would be contrary to law. It is his submission that the acts alleged are during the discharge of official duties and, therefore, without sanction, the proceedings cannot continue, he would submit that sanction is not even sought. It is his further submission that the charges having been not proved in the departmental enquiry, criminal proceedings on the same set of facts should not be permitted to be continued and, therefore, seeks quashment of charge sheets.

6. On the other hand, the learned High Court Government Pleader representing the State would vehemently refute the submissions to contend that the offen