S S JAGANNADHASWAMY NAIDU Vs. TMANIKYAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition raises the question whether sanction under Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code should be obtained before instituting criminal proceedings against a Tahsildar who acted as a polling officer in connection with a municipal election.

(2.) The facts are briefly these: Under G.O. No. 1367, L. & M., dated April 3, 1925 ...where a Chairman of a Municipal Council or the President of a Local Board desires to have the services of an officer of the Revenue Department for the conduct of a particular election he may apply to the Collector and the Collector may spare an officer's services if he is able to do so. Acting under the Government Order, the Chairman of the Ellore Municipality obtained from the Collector the services of the petitioner, a Tahsildar, to act as a polling officer in the 5 Ward of the Ellore Municipality during a recent municipal election. It is alleged that, while acting in that capacity, the petitioner committed an offence under Section 58 of the District Municipalities Act, which runs as follows: Every person who in the course of electoral operations falsifies or attempts to falsify the record of an election by removing, destroying, altering or fabricating nomination papers or voting papers or by any other act or by any omission, shall be punishable with imprisonment of either description which may extend to one year or with fine or with both. The case against the petitioner is described in paragraphs 6 and 7 of the complaint. Paragraph 7 runs thus: The accused wilfully marked the votes wrongly and falsified and attempted to falsify and fabricate the records of the election and committed an offence punishable under Section 58 of the Madras District Municipalities Act and also Secs.465 and 469 of the Indian Penal Code. It is not necessary for the purposes of this case to state the facts of the complaint in greater detail.

(3.) When the case was taken up for trial, objection was taken on behalf of the petitioner that this is a case in which sanction of the Government is necessary under Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code and that, as such sanction had admittedly not been obtained, the complaint should be dismissed. Upholding the objection the joint Magistrate dismissed the complaint. The learned Sessions Judge on revision set aside the order of the Joint Magistrate and directed him to dispose of the case according to law. The present revision petition is against the order of the Sessions Judge.