Police-officer limitation protection applies only to acts connected with official duty; CrPC extension cannot defeat a separate statutory bar.

Section 64(3) of the Kerala Police Act gives police officers limitation protection only for acts done in pursuance of a duty or authority under the Act or other law, so conduct wholly outside official duty, such as alleged assault in custody or wrongful confinement in a lock-up, is not covered. Section 473 of the Code of Criminal Procedure extends limitation only within Chapter XXXVI and cannot override a separate limitation bar under another statute. Section 197(1) CrPC was also inapplicable because the alleged acts were not done in discharge of official duty. The complaint was therefore maintainable and not time-barred.

---

---

Issues: Whether the complaint against police officers alleging offences under the IPC was barred by the six-month limitation in Section 64(3) of the Kerala Police Act, and whether Section 473 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 could be invoked to override that bar.

Analysis: Section 64(3) creates an absolute bar on cognizance of any suit or complaint in respect of any offence or wrong committed by a police officer only when the act complained of is done in pursuance of a duty imposed or authority conferred by the Act or any other law. The protection is therefore confined to acts reasonably connected with official duty and does not extend to conduct wholly outside the scope of such duty, including assault on a person in custody or wrongful confinement in a lock-up without lawful authority. Section 473 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is an exception contained within Chapter XXXVI and operates only to extend the period of limitation prescribed under that Chapter; it cannot be used to defeat a limitation period prescribed by another enactment. The wider protection under Section 197(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was also inapplicable because the alleged acts were not acts done in discharge of official duty.

Conclusion: The bar under Section 64(3) of the Kerala Police Act did not protect the appellants, and Section 473 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 could not be used to overcome that statutory bar. The complaint was maintainable.

Final Conclusion: The criminal proceeding was not time-barred under the Kerala Police Act and the appellants were not entitled to quashing on limitation grounds.

Ratio Decidendi: A limitation provision protecting police officers applies only to acts reasonably connected with official duty, and a limitation extension provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure operates only within the Code's own chapter on limitation unless the special statute expressly permits otherwise.

---