IMPORTANT POINT
Corruption--An employee of the cooperative bank is covered within the comprehensive definition of 'public servant' as contained in Section 2(c)(iii) of the Act

Sabina, J.:- This order shall dispose of CRM-M No. 48058 of 2002 and CRM-M No. 25093 of 2003.

2. I have heard the learned Senior counsel for the petitioner and the learned State counsel.

3. The meaningful question involved in these cases is as to whether the petitioner is a public servant.

4. A ‘public servant’ as defined in Sub-clauses (iii), (viii) and (ix) of Clause (c ) of Section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (‘the Act’ for short) reads as follows:-

“2. Definition- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) xx xx xx

(b) xx xx xx

(c) ‘public servant” means,-

(iii) any person in the service or pay of a corporation established by or under a Central, Provincial or State Act, or an authority or a body owned or controlled or aided by the Government or a Government company as defined in Section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956;

(viii) any person who holds an office by virtue of which he is authorised or required to perform any public duty;

(ix)any person who is the President, Secretary or other office bearer of a registered cooperative society, engaged in agriculture, industry, trade or banking, receiving or having received any financial aid from the Central Government or a State Government or from any corporation established by or under a Central, Provincial or State Act, or any authority or body owned or controlled or aided by the Government or a Government company as defined in Section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956).

Explanation 1 : Persons falling under any of the above sub clauses are ‘public servants’, whether appointed by the Government or not.

Explanation 2 : Wherever the words ‘public servants” occur, they shall be understood of every person who is in actual possession of the situation of a ‘public servant’, whatever legal defect there may be in his right to hold that situation”.

5. Surinder Pal Singh Chhina-petitioner was nominated as a Managing Director of the Central Cooperative Bank, Amritsar (for short ‘the Bank’) on 8.5.1997 and was, thereafter, elected as a Director of the Bank on 22.4.2000. The allegations against the petitioner are that he had misappropriated and mis-utilised funds of the Bank in an illegal manner and had also received illegal gratification for employment of various persons to different posts in the bank, while he was posted as Managing Director of the Bank.

6. The petitioner has filed these petitions under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking quashing of FIR No.20 dated 12.4.2002 under Sections 420, 409, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 7, 13 (1) (d) (e), 13(2) of the Act registered at Police Station Vigilance Bureau Jalandhar and for stay of further proceedings in the trial Court in case bearing FIR No.25 dated 26.4.2002 under Sections 7, 13 (2) and 88 of the Act and under Section 420 and 120-B IPC. Since the question involved in these petitions is purely legal, the facts of the case are not required to be mentioned in detail.

7. The case of the petitioner is that the bank was a cooperative bank governed under the provisions of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 (for short “the Societies Act”). The bank was a banking institution meant to help agriculture, industry etc. The bank was not receiving any financial aid whatsoever from the Central Government or the State Government and hence, the petitioner was not a public servant within the meaning of the Act.

8. The question as to whether the petitioner is a public servant or not is no longer res integra. It has been duly considered by the Apex Court as well as by this Court.

9. It has been held by the Apex Court in Govt. of Andhra Pradesh v. P.Venku Reddy 2002(4) RCR (Criminal) 557, wherein it was held as under:-

“8. From the above quoted sub-clause (ix) of Clause (c ) of Section 2 of the 1988 Act, it is evident that in the expansive definition of ‘public servant’, elected officeCriminal Misc. No.M-48058 of 2002 and 5 Criminal Misc. No.