Summoning orders are revisable and sanction is unnecessary for cheating offences not tied to official duty.

An order issuing process or summoning an accused is treated as an intermediate or quasi-final order, so revision under Section 397 CrPC is not barred by the interlocutory order restriction. The text also states that sanction under Section 197 CrPC is not required for prosecution for cheating and allied offences, because such offences are not committed in the discharge of official duty merely because the accused is a public servant. On that basis, the contrary view on sanction was considered incorrect, and the summoning order was restored so the trial could proceed.

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Issues: (i) Whether an order issuing process or summoning an accused is amenable to revision under Section 397 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. (ii) Whether sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was required for prosecution of a public servant for offences of cheating and allied offences.

Issue (i): Whether an order issuing process or summoning an accused is amenable to revision under Section 397 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Analysis: The governing principle applied was that an order directing issuance of process is not purely interlocutory. It is treated as an intermediate or quasi-final order, and therefore revisional jurisdiction is not barred by Section 397(2). The later decision relied upon settled the position and governed the present case.

Conclusion: Revisional jurisdiction under Section 397 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was available against the summoning order.

Issue (ii): Whether sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was required for prosecution of a public servant for offences of cheating and allied offences.

Analysis: The controlling rule applied was that offences such as cheating cannot, by their very nature, be regarded as having been committed while acting or purporting to act in discharge of official duty. Official position may furnish the occasion for the offence, but that does not make sanction mandatory. On that basis, the previous view that sanction was necessary was held to be incorrect.

Conclusion: Sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was not required.

Final Conclusion: The appellate challenge succeeded, the contrary orders were set aside, and the summoning order was restored so that the trial could proceed.

Ratio Decidendi: An order issuing process is an intermediate or quasi-final order open to revision under Section 397, and sanction under Section 197 is not required for offences which are not committed in the discharge of official duty, even if the accused is a public servant.

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