Important Point
For prosecution under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, the investigation conducted by the Inspector of Police authorised in that behalf by the 1947 Act are held to be proper, legal and valid investigation under the re-enacted Act of 1988 and do not suffer from any vice of illegality or jurisdiction.

Headnote:(i) Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 —Section 17—Investigation—Authorised officers—Notifications issued by State Government in exercise of powers u/s 5A(1) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 (since repealed) empowering and authorising Inspector of Police to investigate cases—Whether saved under saving provisions of re-enacted 1988 Act?—(Yes) —These notifications not being inconsistent with provisions of re-enacted Act continue to be in force and be deemed to have been issued under provisions of 1988 Act—Quashing of prosecution pending against respondents under provisions of 1988 Act holding investigations not conducted by authorised officers held not justified—General Clauses Act—Section 30(2).
       Held : The notifications issued by the Government of Punjab, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 5A of the 1947 Act, empowering and authorising the Inspectors of Police posted in Special Inquiry Agency of the Vigilance Department, Govt. of Punjab to investigate the cases registered under the said Act were saved under the saving provision of the re-enacted 1988 Act. Such notifications are not inconsistent with the provisions of re-enacted Act and are deemed to continue in force as having been issued under the re-enacted 1988 Act till the aforesaid notifications are specifically superseded or withdrawn or modified under the 1988 Act. The investigation conducted by the Inspectors of Police authorised in that behalf under the 1947 Act are held to be proper, legal and valid investigation under the re-enacted Act and do not suffer from any vice of illegality or jurisdiction. The High Court committed a mistake of law in holding the aforesaid notifications as not saved under the re-enacted 1988 Act. The quashing of the proceedings on the basis of the First Information Report registered against the respondent-accused was illegal and contrary to the settled position of law. The judgment of the High Court, impugned in these appeals, is, therefore, liable to be set aside. (Para 25)
       It has been conceded before us that there is no inconsistency between Section 5A of the 1947 Act and Section 17 of the 1988 Act and provisions of General Clauses Act would be applicable and with the aid of sub-section (2) of Section 30 anything done or any action taken or purported to have been done or taken in pursuance of 1947 Act be deemed to have been done or taken under or in pursuance of the corresponding provision of 1988 Act. For that purpose, the 1988 Act, by fiction, shall be deemed to have been in force at the time when the aforesaid notifications were issued under the then prevalent corresponding law. Otherwise also there does not appear any inconsistency between the two enactments except that the scope and field covered by 1988 Act has been widened and enlarged. Both the enactments deal with the same subject matter, i.e. corruption amongst the public servants and make provision to deal with such a menace. (Para 23)
       (ii) General Clause Act—Sections 24 and 30(2)—Applicability to repealing and re-enacting statute—Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 is both repealing and re-enacting the law relating to prevention of corruption—Notifications issued u/s. 5A(1) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 empowering and authorising Inspector of Police to investigate cases, saved by 1988 Act.
       Held : The High Court committed a mistake of law by holding that as notifications have not expressly been saved by Section 30 of the Act, those would not enure or survive to govern any investigation done or legal proceeding instituted in respect of the cases registered under the 1988 Act. There is no dispute that 1988 Act is both repealing and re-enacting the law relating to prevention of corruption to which the provisions of Section 24 of the General Clauses Act are specifically applicable. It appears that as Section 6 of the General Clauses Act applies to repealed enactments, the Legislature in its wisdom thought it proper to make the same specifically applicable in 1988 Act also which is a repealed and re-enacted statute. Reference to Section 6 of General Clauses Act in sub-section (1) of Section 30 has been made to avoid any confusion or misunderstanding regarding the effect of repeal with regard to actions taken under the repealed Act. If the Legislature had intended not to apply the provisions of Section 24 of the General Clauses Act to the 1988 Act, it would have specifically so provided under the enacted law. In the light of the fact that Section 24 of the General Clauses Act is specifically applicable to repealing and re-enacting statute, its exclusion has to be specific and cannot be inferred by twisting the language of the enactments. Accepting the contention of the learned counsel for the respondents would render the provisions of 1988 Act redundant inasmuch as appointments, notifications, orders, schemes, rules, by-laws, made or issued under the repealed Act would be deemed to be non-existent making impossible the working of the re-enacted law impossible. The provisions of the 1988 Act are required to be understood and interpreted in the light of the provisions of the General Clauses Act including Sections 6 and 24 thereof. (Para 22)
       Result : Appeals allowed.

Judgment

Sethi, J.—In all these appeals, the FIRs and subsequent proceedings pending against the respondents under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as “the 1988 Act”) were quashed by the High Court in exercise of the powers vesting in it under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The accused-respondents had been apprehended while accepting the bribe by laying the trap under the 1988 Act. The High Court found that as the investigations had not been conducted by the authorised officers under the 1988 Act, the same were vitiated and deserved to be quashed.

2. The questions of law to be adjudicated upon in these appeals are:

(1) Whether the notifications issued by the State Government in exercise of the powers conferred upon it under Section 5A(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 (since repealed) empowering and authorising Inspector of Police to investigate the cases registered under the said Act are not saved under the saving provisions of the re-enacted Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

(2) Whether the aforesaid notifications not being inconsistent with the provisions of the re-enacted Act continue to be in force and be deemed to have been issued under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 till aforesaid notifications are superseded or specifically withdrawn.”

3. Most of the facts in these appeals are not disputed. It is agreed that during the subsistence of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as “the 1947 Act”), the Government of Punjab issued a notification on 9.7.1968 authorising Inspectors of Police, for the time being serving in the State Vigilance Department or who may be posted in future to serve with the said agency to investigate the offences under the 1947 Act within the State of Punjab so long as they remain posted in the said agency. In supersession of the notifications dated 9th July, 1968, the Government of Punjab issued another notification on 12.8.1968 under Section 5A(1) of the 1947 Act authorising such inspectors of police to investigate the offences under the Act even beyond the State of Punjab and the restrictions of investigation within the State of Punjab were removed. The 1947 Act was repealed on 9.9.1988 by re-enacting the 1988 Act being Act No. 49 of 1988. FIRs against the respondents were, concededly, registered after the coming into force the 1988 Act and the investigation conducted by the Inspectors of Police who had been authorised to investigate the offences by notifications issued under the repealed Act of 1947. The accused-respondents filed petitions under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. (hereinafter referred to as “the Code”) for quashing the FIRs registered and the proceedings pending against them on the ground that the inspectors who had investigated the cases were not the authorised officers in terms of Section 17 of 1988 Act.

4. In reply to the notices issued by the High Court, the State filed counter affidavit submitting therein that the investigating officers were authorised to investigate the case as provided by first proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 5A of the 1947 Act. It was contended that in view of the provisions of Section 30(2) of the 1988 Act read with Sections 6 and 24 of the General Clauses Act, the notifications issued by the State of Punjab under the 1947 Act were still in force which empowered the Inspectors of the Police of the Vigilance Department to investigate the cases under the 1947 Act.

5. The learned Judge, who disposed of the petitions for quashing the FIRs and the subsequent proceedings vide the judgment impugned in these appeals, first dealt with the problem of prevalent corruption in society and described it as cancer eating the bone marrow of the society. He, however, found that the repeal of an Act amounted to its revocation, annulment and abrogation, the effect of which was that the repealed Act or Ordinance did not exist on the statute book. The only e

Click Here to Read the rest of this document

Cases Referred (7)