S. 197 CrPC | Sanction Needed Even For Acts Exceeding Authority If There's Reasonable Nexus With Official Duties: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court reiterated that a mere excess or overreach in the discharge of official duties does not, by itself, deprive a public servant of the statutory protection granted under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.Section 197 of the Cr.P.C. provides a protective safeguard to public servants by requiring prior sanction from the appropriate government before they can be prosecuted for acts allegedly committed in the discharge of their official duties. The Court clarified that this protection extends even to acts carried out in excess of official duties, as long as there is a reasonable nexus between the alleged act and the discharge of official functions. In other words, if the offending act forms is inextricably linked to the public servant's official duties, a prior sanction is mandatory even if the alleged act exceeds the scope of official duties.“any action undertaken by a public officer, even if in excess of the authority vested in them or overstepping the confines of their official duty, would nonetheless attract statutory protection, provided there exists a reasonable nexus between the act complained of and the officer's official functions.”, the court observed. The bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma heard the case where it was alleged that the appellants-accused (police officers) had acted in excess of their official duties by committing assault and wrongfully confining the complainant. The complainant has lodged a private complaint against the appellants and aggrieved by the trial court's summoning order to them, the Appellant approached the High Court seeking quashing of the summoning order issued by the trial court. Dismissal of their quashing petition prompted the Appellants to approach the Supreme Court. Setting aside the High Court's order justifying the summoning order, the judgment authored by Justice Nagarathna emphasized that even excessive acts (e.g., custodial torture during investigation) are protected if there is a "reasonable nexus" to official duties. The test is whether the act is connected to duty, not whether it was lawful. The Court referenced the case of D. Devaraja vs. Owais Sabeer Hussain, (2020) 7 SCC 695, where it was observed that where a police officer, in the course of performing official duties, exceeds the bounds of such duty, the protective shield under the relevant statutory provisions continues to apply, provided there exists a reasonable nexus between the impugned act and the discharge of official functions. Since the alleged acts (assault, wrongful confinement) occurred during the investigation of criminal cases against the complainant, and even if the appellant-officers exceeded authority, their actions were linked to their roles as police officers, attracting statutory protection under Section 197 CrPC, the court said. “In the present case, it is an admitted position that the complainant was declared a rowdy sheeter by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Law and Order (West), Bengaluru City, pursuant to a request made by the Mahalakshmi Layout Police Station, Bengaluru, upon due consideration of the criminal cases registered against the complainant, vide order dated 23.08.1990. Subsequently, multiple criminal cases have been instituted against the complainant. It is in the course of the investigation of these cases that the instant allegations have been levelled against the accused persons. As noted above, any action undertaken by a public officer, even if in excess of the authority vested in them or overstepping the confines of their official duty, would nonetheless attract statutory protection, provided there exists a reasonable nexus between the act complained of and the officer's official functions.”, the court observed. “a mere excess or overreach in the performance of official duty does not, by itself, disentitle a public servant from the statutory protection mandated by law. The safeguard of obtaining prior sanction from the competent authority, as envisaged under Section 197 of the CrPC and Section 170 of the Police Act cannot be rendered nugatory merely because the acts alleged may have exceeded the strict bounds of official duty. In view of the foregoing, we are of the considered opinion that the learned VII Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate erred in taking cognisance of the alleged offences against the accused persons without the requisite sanction for prosecution in the instant case. The absence of the necessary sanction vitiates the very initiation of criminal proceedings against the accused persons.”, the court held. Resultantly, the appeal was allowed, quashing all proceedings against the appellants. It held that the Magistrate erred in taking cognizance without prior sanction.Also Read - S.197 CrPC | When Can Public Servant's Offence Be Linked To Official Duties? Supreme Court Explains PrinciplesS.197 CrPC| Sanction Not Needed To Prosecute Police Officers Accused Of Lodging...

S. 197 CrPC | Sanction Needed Even For Acts Exceeding Authority If There's Reasonable Nexus With Official Duties: Supreme Court

Yash Mittal

"A mere excess or overreach in the performance of official duty does not, by itself, disentitle a public servant from the statutory protection mandated by law. "

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