JUDGMENT

MISRA, J.:— The present petition for special leave is directed against the order of the High Court dated 5th of March, 1982 dismissing the petition under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

2. The petition was dismissed in limine after hearing the counsel at some length on 29th April, 1982, for reasons to be recorded later. We now proceed to give the reasons.

3. The petitioner was appointed in the year 1961, as Sectional Officer (Overseer) in the Punjab Public Works Department (Irrigation Branch) of the State of Punjab under the Punjab Public Works Department (Irrigation Branch) Overseers Engineering State Service, Class III, Rules 1955, hereinafter called the Rules.

4. In the year 1971-72 a project work relating to desilting of Kasur Nallah was taken up by the Irrigation Department. On 26-7-1973 on the basis of certain complaint, the Vigilance Department lodged a report at Police Station, Valtoha, alleging that various persons including the petitioner herein had committed offences under S. 5 (2) read with S. 5 (1) (c) and (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 and under Ss. 409, 420, 461 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.

5. On the basis of the said report the petitioner along with others was put on trial before Shri K. S. Bhalla, Special Judge, Amritsar. In the course of the trial the petitioner along with others moved an application on 26-11-1980 for their discharge, on the ground that the sanction of the Chief Engineer, who is the authority competent to remove the petitioner, within the meaning of S. 6 (1) (c) has not been obtained at all by the prosecution and instead the sanction has been accorded by the Chief Minister which amounts to sanction by the State Government which is the appellate authority under the rules. It was further alleged that the proposal for sanction was not at all processed by the concerned administrative Department.

6. The learned Special Judge, however, dismissed the petition by his order dated 23rd December, 1981. Feeling aggrieved by the said order the petitioner along with Shri Jagjit Singh Bagga, Sub-Divisional Officer, moved an application under S. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana for quashing the proceedings pending against them in the court of Special Judge at Amritsar, and for setting aside the order dated 23rd December, 1981. The High Court by order dated 5th March, 1982, dismissed the application under S. 482 of the Cri. Procedure Code in limine. The petitioner has now come to this court for special leave to appeal against the said order of the High Court.

7. The contention raised on behalf of the petitioner is that the authority competent to remove him from his office is the Chief Engineer and as such sanction for prosecution could be accorded only by him and by nobody else. But in the present case sanction has been accorded by the Chief Minister and therefore, there is no sanction in the eve of law and the entire proceeding was vitiated on that ground and the same should be quashed.

8. In order to appreciate the contention raised it would be appropriate at this stage to refer to S. 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. In so far as it is material for the purpose of this case it reads :

"6 (1). No court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under Sec. 161 or Section 164 or Section 165 of the Indian Penal Code, or under sub-sec. (2) or sub-section (3A) of Section 5 of this Act, alleged to have been committed by a public servant, except with the previous sanction,

(a) in the case of a person who is employed in connection with the affairs of the Union and is not removable from his office save by or with the sanction of the Central Government, of the Central Government;

(b) in the case of a person who is employed in connection with affairs of a State and is not removable from his office save by or with the sanction of the State Government, of the State Government;

(c) in the case of any other person, of the auth