1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith with the consent of the parties and taken up for final disposal.

2. By this application, the applicant has impugned the order dated 17th January, 2014 passed by the learned Special Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act), Mumbai in Special Case No. 90/2010, by which the applicant's application seeking quashing of the criminal proceedings, instituted against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 ('PC Act'), came to be rejected.

3. The short question that arises for determination in the present petition is, whether the applicant can be termed as a 'public servant' within the meaning of Section 2(c)(viii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (hereinafter referred to as the 'PC' Act), in the facts of the present case.

4. The applicant is stated to be a highly qualified and renowned Structural Engineer with expertise of three decades in the said field. He is also stated to have been professionally trained in space analysis and finite element analysis and to have completed an intensive course in project management in conservation repairs targeted towards restoration of heritage structures. It is stated that he is running a company