Article 20(2) bar requires prior criminal prosecution and punishment; departmental enquiry and dismissal do not attract double jeopardy.

Article 20(2) is attracted only where a person has already been prosecuted and punished for the same offence in a criminal proceeding before a competent court or judicial tribunal. A departmental or fact-finding enquiry under the Public Servants (Inquiries) Act, 1850, even if it uses sworn evidence and compulsory process, remains an administrative process to assist disciplinary decision-making. The Commissioner's report is only advisory, and dismissal following the enquiry is employer disciplinary action, not punishment for an offence. The subsequent criminal prosecution was therefore not barred by Article 20(2).

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Issues: Whether an enquiry under the Public Servants (Inquiries) Act, 1850, followed by dismissal from service, amounts to prosecution and punishment for an offence so as to attract the bar of Article 20(2) of the Constitution against the subsequent criminal prosecution on the same facts.

Analysis: Article 20(2) protects a person only where there has been both prosecution and punishment for the same offence in a criminal proceeding before a court of law or judicial tribunal. A departmental or administrative enquiry, even if conducted on legal evidence, with witnesses examined on oath and with powers to summon witnesses and compel production of documents, does not by itself become a criminal prosecution. The enquiry under the Public Servants (Inquiries) Act, 1850 is a fact-finding process intended to help the Government decide whether disciplinary action should be taken against a public servant. The Act does not create any offence or prescribe any punishment for an offence. The Commissioner's report is only an opinion and lacks finality, and the ultimate dismissal is an employer's disciplinary action, not punishment imposed for an offence under the Penal Code or the Prevention of Corruption Act. The constitutional protection under Article 20(2) therefore cannot be invoked on the basis of such an enquiry and dismissal.

Conclusion: The enquiry and dismissal did not amount to prior prosecution and punishment for the offences charged, and the bar of Article 20(2) was not attracted.

Ratio Decidendi: Article 20(2) applies only when a person has been previously prosecuted and punished for the same offence in a criminal proceeding before a competent court or judicial tribunal; a disciplinary or fact-finding enquiry leading to dismissal is not such prosecution or punishment.

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