A public servant is entitled to the protection of Section 197 of the CrPC if the act complained of was committed in the discharge of their official duty and there was a reasonable connection between the act and the official duty.

T. R. Handa, J.—The petitioner herein filed a criminal complaint under sections 143, 148, 149, 379, 380, 382, 452, 453, 454 and 461, I. P. C. against all the 63 respondents in the court of Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Chamba which complaint was later on with the enforcement of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 transferred to the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chamba. Respondents Nos. J, 3 and 4 are admittedly public servants not removable from office save by or with the permission of the State Government. The learned Chief Judicial Magistrate after recording the preliminary evidence of the petitioner, vide his order dated 10-6-1976 summoned only 21 out of 63 respondents under sections 143, 379, 380 and 461 read with section 149, I. P. C. As regards respondents Nos. 1, 3 and 4 the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate observed that he could not take cognizance against these respondents without the sanction of the State Government as contemplated by section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure as the act complained of against them was committed by them while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of their official duties. He accordingly refused to summon these three respondents.

2. The petitioner has now approached this Court in revision and has challenged the order of the Chief Judicial Magistrate dated 10-6-1976 in so far only as it lays down that he could not take cognizance of the offences against respondents Nos. 1, 3 and 4 without the prior sanction of the State Government under section 197, Cr- P. C.

3. Thus the sole question that falls for consideration in this revision is with regard to the application of the provisions of section 197, Cr. P. C. on the facts of the present case. The very nature cf the case, therefore, demands that the facts should be set out at some length.

4. The petitioner is the Director Incharge of Messrs. Stee-Men Limited- This company entered into a contract with the President of India through the then Executive Engineer, Chamba Division, H. P. P. W. D. Chamba for the construction of a 300 fit. span stiffened suspension bridge across Ravi at Chamba vide agreement No. 10 of 1969-70. As both the parties relied upon clauses 16 to 18 of this agreement, it is considered expedient to quote these clauses in extenso and the same are reproduced as under: Clauses 16.—The works comprised in this tender are to be commenced after 15 days on receipt of written orders from the Divisional Officer to commence work. The time allowed for carrying out the work as entered in the tender shall be strictly observed by the contractor on the part of the contractor and shall be reckoned from the fifteenth day after the date on which the orders to commence the work is issued to the contractor. The work shall throughout the stipulated period of the contract be proceeded with all due diligence and the contractor shall pay as compensation an amount equal to one per cent, or such smaller amount as the Superintending Engineer (whose decision in writing shall be final) may decide on the amount of the estimated cost of the whole work shown in the tender, for every day that the work remains uncommenced, or unfinished after the proper dates. And further, to ensure good progress during the execution of the work, the contractor shall be bound in all cases in which the time allowed for any work exceeds, one month (save for special jobs) to complete one eighth of the whole of the work before one fourth of the whole of the time allowed under the contract has elapsed, three eighth of the work before one half of such time has elapsed, and three-fourth of the whole of the work before three-fourth of such time has elapsed. However, for special jobs if a time schedule has been submitted by the contractor and the same has been accepted by the Engineer-in-Charge, the contractor shall comply with the said time schedule. In the event of the contractor failing to comply with this condition he shall be liable to pay as compensation an