JATIN CHAKRABORTY Vs. B K CHAKRABORTY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, at all material times a Minister in the Council of Ministers of this State, is sought to be prosecuted on a complaint filed by the present opposite party No. 1, before the learned Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Calcutta, who after taking cognizance and examination of witnesses found that a prima facie case was made out against the petitioner under Ss.323/352/504/355, IPC and summons was issued accordingly. The substance of allegation made by the said opposite party was that on the 2nd February, 1987, at about 12-30 P.M. he, as the Secretary General of Federation of Association of Engineers and Technical Officers, West Bengal, along with some other representatives of the said association called on the Chief Engineer. P.W.D., Government of West Bengal in his chamber for making certain representation when the petitioner stormed into the chamber of the Chief Engineer and abused the said opposite party and his companions in filthy language and also threatened and subsequently pushed the said opposite party and some others and also assaulted them with fists and blows. The petitioner has come up in revision to quash the proceeding and the only ground pressed in support thereof was that the learned Chief Metropolitan Magistrate has committed an error of law by taking cognizance although no previous sanction under S.197, Code of Criminal P.C. was obtained.

(2.) There was no controversy that a Minister is a public servant and for taking cognizance of an offence alleged to have been committed by the petitioner, sanction under S.197, Cr. P.C. would be necessary if it was found that the offence complained of was committed by him while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty. Therefore, the short point which calls for adjudication is whether the alleged offences were committed by the petitioner while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty.

(3.) The scope of protection afforded by S.197, Cr. P.C. was laid down by the Supreme Court in several cases including Matajog Dobey v. H.S. Bhari, AIR 1956 SC 44 , quoted with approval by the same court in Balbir Singh v. D.N. Kadian, AIR 1986 SC 345 , in the following terms - (para 4)