1. The petitioner has come up with the above writ petition, challenging an Office Memorandum issued by the Secretariat Branch of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited, clarifying that the Officials of the Corporation, come within the purview of the term 'public servant' under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and that therefore, whenever sanction is sought for prosecution, the same shall be granted without delay.

2. Heard Mr. Abudu Kumar Rajaratnam, learned counsel for the petitioner.

3. By the Memorandum impugned in this writ petition dated 19.6.2012, the Secretariat Branch of the TANGEDCO, considered a vexed question as to whether the Officials of the Corporations continue to be public servants, even after the coming into the force of the Electricity Act, 2003 or not. The Secretariat Branch of the Corporation took an affirmative view that in view of the definition of the expression contained in the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, their employees, who were earlier the employees of the Electricity Board, are actually public servants. Aggrieved by the said clarification issued by way of a Memorandum dated 19.6.2012, the petitioner has come up with the above writ petition.

4. Mr. Abudu Kumar Rajaratnam, learned counsel for the petitioner contended that under Section 81 of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948, all the Members, Officers and other employees of the Electricity Board were deemed, when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the provisions of the Act, to be public servants within the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code. But the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948, was repealed by the Electricity Act, 2003. Section 185 of the Electricity Act, 2003 specifically repealed the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 as well as the provisions of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910 and the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act, 1998. The Electricity Act, 2003 does not contain any provision, which is exactly the same as that of Section 81 of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948. On the contrary, it contains a provision in Section 169, whereby the Chairperson, Members, Officers and other employees of the Appellate Tribunal and the Chairperson, Members, Secretary, Officers and other employees of the Appropriate Commission and the Assessing Officer referred to in Section 126, shall be deemed, when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the provisions of this Act, to be public servants within the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.

5. Therefore, the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that while Section 81 of the 1948 Act covered all servants and employees of the Electricity Board, Section 169 of the 2003 Act restricted the application of the expression 'public servant' only to a few categories of employees, after the bifurcation of the erstwhile Board. In such circumstances, it is contended by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the impugned Memorandum making all employees of the newly formed Corporations 'public servants' amounted to executive legislation overreaching the specific statutory provisions.

6. In order to test the veracity of the above contention, I may have to take note of various provisions of four Enactments, namely The Indian Penal Code, The Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948, The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and The Electricity Act, 2003.

7. Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code, defines the expression 'public servant' as follows:

"Public servant".-- The words "public servant" denote a person falling under any of the descriptions hereinafter following, namely:--

Second.-- Every Commissioned Officer in the Military, Naval or Air Forces of India;

Third.-- Every Judge including any person empowered by law to discharge, whether by himself or as a member of any body of persons, any adjudicatory functions;

Fourth.-- Every officer of a Court of Justice 6 (including a liquidator, receiver or commissioner) whose duty it is