The Rajasthan High Court rules that the prosecution of a public servant cannot proceed without prior approval, as required by section 197 of the Code Criminal Procedure, and that such proceeding may be annulled.

The Bench of Justice Sudesh Bansal made the following observation: "Under such circumstances, it may not be conceivable to take cognizance for an offense under Sections 323 and 504 IPC against the petitioner without demanding sanction, which is statutorily required in light of Section 197 Cr.PC. Without sanction, the petitioner's prosecution may not be allowed. The Apex Court has already declared and noted that a petition under Section 482 Cr.PC is maintainable to quash criminal proceedings, which are ex-facie bad for want of prosecution when addressing the matter of sanction under Section 197 Cr.PC in the case of D. Devaraja (Supra). Without a doubt, the penalty has not been given in this particular instance.

Public Prosecutor SS Maha represented the Respondents, while Senior Advocate AK Gupta represented the Petitioner.

The legality of the cognizance order issued by a Judicial Magistrate for the offenses under Sections 323 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code against the petitioner, a public servant assigned as a Station House Officer (SHO), was contested in a petition filed under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. for lack of prior sanction, which is required by Section 197 Cr.P.C.

Respondent No. 2 filed a complaint alleging that the Petitioner-SHO had completely abused his authority as SHO by detaining three individuals, including himself, without cause and severely beating them with rubber bands. The respondent-complainant claimed that he and another individual had multiple bodily injuries and were brought before the SDM without first obtaining a medical examination.

This Court determines that, in the lack of approval under section 197 Cr.PC., the petitioner's prosecution is not entitled to continue. As a result, the order of revisional court and the contested order of cognizance are liable to be set aside," the court said. This Court determines that there are sufficient grounds to exercise inherent powers under s. 482 Cr.PC given the facts and circumstances of the current case to avoid abuse of the legal system.

The Court referred to D. Devaraja v. Owais Sabeer Hussain (2020 SC), which articulated the criteria for determining whether prosecution under Section u/s. 197 Cr.PC. was sanctioned and went to great lengths about it. According to the ruling of the Apex Court, the purpose of sanctioning a prosecution under Section 197 Cr.P.C. or Section 170 of the Karnataka Police Act, 1963, is to shield a public servant or police officer performing official duties and functions from being harassed by the filing of baseless criminal proceedings in retaliation.

The Court referred to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court in Shadakshari v. State of Karnataka (2024) and stated that protection under Section 197 Cr.P.C. was denied in that case because the Public Servant was discovered to have fabricated official documents by abusing his official capacity. As a result, protection under Section 197 Cr.PC. was denied in such unusual circumstances.

"However, it is hereby observed that the present criminal complaint along with the order of cognizance would stand to revive," the court said in its conclusion, "provided that sanction to prosecute the petitioner is granted as per provision of Section 197 Cr.PC within a period of 90 days."

As a result, the Court granted the petition and overturned the contested order.