PATITAPABAN PANDA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All the three aforesaid CRMC petitions have been filed under Section 482 Cr PC with a prayer to quash the proceedings of T.R. Case Nos. 4 of 1984 and 35 of 1983 pending before the Special Judge, Bhubaneswar mainly on the ground that though the petitioners were charged with alleged commission of offences under Section 5(2) read with Section 5(1 )(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 as long back as in the year 1982, the proceedings of the cases have not yet come to a logical end till date though 22/23 years have passed in the meanwhile. The further ground urged by the petitioners is that the aforesaid offences cannot be brought home against them they not being public servants in relation to the alleged crime.

(2.) Admittedly the petitioners were the employees of the Utkal University. The allegations against them broadly were that while they were in charge of publication of results of the Degree Examination with regard to withheld cases and had been entrusted with the duty of preparing the mark-foils from the answerscripts and hand over the same to the tabulators concerned for finalisation and/or verifying the roll numbers of the examinees appearing in the result sheets received from the tabulators they had adopted unfair means, and thereby committed the alleged offences.

(3.) According to learned counsel for the petitioners the alleged occurrence having taken place in the year 1982, the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 would not ipsofacto apply to the cases initiated against them, although at best the old Act of 1947 may be applicable. Under the old Act, 1947, 'public servant' would mean and connote the definition of the said words as given in the Indian Penal Code, but the said definition under the Indian Penal Code does not embrace an employee of a University. On that basis the cases initiated against the petitioners, vide the aforesaid T.R. Cases, would not be maintainable.