Iqbal Ahmed Ansari, J.

1. "When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty."

Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the third President of the United States (1801-1809)

Article 21 is one of the most cherished provisions in our Constitution, which prohibits the State from depriving a person of his life and liberty except according to the procedure established by law. However, what happens if by the State's action, which has been neither sanctioned by a legislation nor has been taken in valid exercise of its executive powers, the ineffaceable mandate of Article 21 gets smudged. This is precisely the issue, which the appellant has been, for almost a decade of litigation, urging the court to decide. Having been unsuccessful in his attempt to convince the Court in his writ petition of the correctness and righteousness of his contentions, the appellant is, now, before us, seeking a revisit to his submissions.

1a. Some of the prominent questions, which have arisen for determination, in this appeal, are:

(i) Whether 'Central Bureau of Investigation', popularly called CBI, is a constitutionally valid police force empowered to 'investigate' crimes?

(ii) Could a 'police force', empowered to 'investigate' crimes, have been created and constituted by a mere Resolution of Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, in purported exercise of its executive powers?

(iii) Could a 'police force', constituted by a Home Ministry Resolution, arrest a person accused of committing an offence, conduct search and seizure, submit charge-sheet and/or prosecute alleged offender?

(iv) Whether CBI is a 'police force' constituted under the Union's Legislative powers conferred by List I Entry 8?

(v) Do Entry 1 and 2 of the Concurrent List empower the Union Government to raise a 'police force' and that, too, by way of Executive instructions of Union Home Ministry?

(vi) Whether Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, empowers the Union Home Ministry to establish a 'police force' in the name of CBI?

(vii) Above all, is it permissible for the Executive to create a 'police force' with power to 'investigate' crimes in exercise of its executive powers, when exercise of such a power adversely affects or infringes fundamental rights embodied in Part III of the Constitution, particularly, Article 21?

2. The present appeal has arisen out of the judgment and order, dated 30-11-2007, passed, in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 6877 of 2005, by a learned Single Judge of this Court dismissing the writ petition, whereby the writ petitioner had sought for, inter alia, (i) quashing of the impugned Resolution No. 4/31/61-T, dated 01-04-1963, whereunder the Central Bureau of Investigation stands established, as ultra vires the Constitution of India and (ii) quashing of the criminal proceeding/prosecution, which originated from the FIR/RC No. 39(A)/2001/CBI/SIL and is presently pending against the petitioner, in the Court of Special Judge (C.B.I), Assam, at Guwahati.

3. The material facts, which have given rise to the present appeal, may, in brief, be set out as under:

(i) A criminal case being RC No. 39(A)/2001/CBI/SIL was registered, on 31-07-2001, under Sections 120B IPC /420 IPC and Section 13(1)(d) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, in the office of the Superintendent of Police, Central Bureau of Investigation (hereinafter referred to as 'CBI'), Silchar, Assam, against the petitioner, who is an employee of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, New Delhi. Having investigated the case, the CBI laid a charge sheet, dated 25-11-2004, in the Court of the learned Special Judge, CBI, Assam, Kamrup, Guwahati.

(ii) With the help of the writ petition, bearing W.P. (C) No. 6877 of 2005 aforementioned, the constitutional validity of the very formation of the CBI and its powers to carry out the functions of police, namely, registration of First Information Re