VIJAY KUMAR SRIVASTAVA Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been filed for quashing the entire criminal prosecution including order dated 5.12.2003 passed in Forest Case No. G. 207 of 2003, corresponding to T.R.No. 990/2004, whereby and whereunder learned Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Hazaribagh took cognizance under Section 33 of the Indian Forest Act against the petitioners.

(2.) FACTS leading to the filing of this application are that the Forest Case No. G. 207/2003 was instituted against five persons including the petitioners on written information of one Kedar Nath Tiwary, Forest Guard, Niri Forest Block on 13.9.2003, alleging, inter alia, therein that when he alongwith others was on patrolling duty, he found that all accused persons including the petitioners were illegally breaking the stones of forest area and when the accused persons saw them, they fled away and later on Munshi and the Contractor reached there, from those persons informant enquired about the purpose of breaking stones, for which they stated that stonechips shall be used in the construction of road from Keredari High School to Bundu and those persons have also disclosed the names of other persons including the petitioners and informant further stated that he knows the Munshi and others, and hence this case (Annexure 1). The prosecution report has been submitted against five persons including the petitioners on 15.9.2003.

(3.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioners submitted that since no sanction has been accorded by the State Government, prosecution of such public servants is without any jurisdiction and as such, the court, while exercising jurisdiction, should have considered this aspect whether sanction is necessary or not. It was pointed out that from the fact stated above, it is quite clear that petitioners are public servants and they are executive engineer and junior engineer respectively and even if they are said to have done this, they have done this due to discharge of their official duty because there is no such allegation that stones were being broken and carried out for personal work of the petitioners, although they were executive engineer and junior engineer respectively and it cannot be expected of them that they will employ themselves in breaking of stones and why they will go to a lonely place and indulge in breaking of stones and, therefore, all these allegations are palpably false and it is nothing but an inter -departmental rivalry and in this rivalry the forest officials have got this case instituted through one of their junior officials on palpably false ground, because when stones were being broken, then implements of breaking stones together with vehicles, by which Executive Engineer and Junior Engineer had gone, must have been mentioned in the written report of the forest guard. It was further submitted that without sanction the petitioners cannot be prosecuted and cognizance order should be quashed.