Protection U/S 17A PC Act Does Not Apply In Allegations Of Offences Involving Personal Misconduct Or Acts Not Covered By Public Servant’s Official Duties: Rajasthan HC
|The Rajasthan High Court observed that if an alleged offence involves personal misconduct or acts not covered by the public servant’s official duties, the protection under Section 17A Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 does not apply.
The Court was hearing a Criminal Miscellaneous Petition seeking quashing of FIR registered against them under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Sections 201, 384 and 120B of IPC.
The bench of Justice Rajendra Prakash Soni observed, “…Section 17A of the Act applies only to offences arising from acts or decisions directly linked to the public servant's official functions. If the alleged offence involves personal misconduct or acts not covered by the public servant’s official duties, this protection does not apply.”
Senior Advocate Vikas Balia appeared for the Appellant and PP Lalit Kishore Sen appeared for the Respondent.
Brief Facts-
An FIR was filed against some persons for cheating in a competitive exam. During the investigation, ASI and his team arrested Surendra Dhariwal, seized cash and electronics from him, and allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs. 5 lakh. After securing bail, Dhariwal faced further demands at the police station for the return of his belongings. He recorded interactions on a pen drive voice recorder, which he later handed to an ACB constable. This led to FIRs against CI Ranidan Singh and ASI alleging bribery and misconduct.
The Court observed, “if a public servant demands gratification, then no approval is required under Section 17A to trap him. If the trap proceeding is successful or unsuccessful, then the crime of accepting or attempting to accept gratification is said to have been committed by him, only thereafter, question of inquiry or investigation of that crime and approval for it arises.”
The Court noted that the newly inserted provision prohibits the conducting of any inquiry or investigation into an offence under the Act by a public servant, except in cases of on-the-spot arrest, where the alleged act is related to any recommendation made or decision taken by the public servant in the discharge of official functions or duties unless prior approval from the competent authority is obtained.
The Court noted that lodging of FIR against the Petitioners without the approval of the competent authority is void ab initio.
Accordingly, the Court allowed the Petitions.
Cause Title: Ranidan Singh v. State of Rajasthan (Neutral Citation: 2024:RJ-JD:41050)
Appearance:
Appellant: Senior Advocate Vikas Balia, Advocates Sachin Saraswat, Ashok Choudhary, Chandra Shekhar Kotwani and Manoj Choudhary
Respondent: PP Lalit Kishor Sen, PP Sharwan Singh Rathore and Rajak Khan