Official duty nexus under Section 197 CrPC bars cognizance without sanction when alleged acts arise from a public servant's duty.

Section 197 CrPC protects a public servant from cognizance for acts that bear a reasonable and rational nexus with official duty, even if the act is alleged to have been excessive or improperly done. Applying that test, the Supreme Court found that the acts attributed to the appellant arose from an official operation for removal of encroachment and were sufficiently connected with the discharge or purported discharge of duty. Cognizance without prior sanction was therefore barred, the contrary finding was held erroneous, and the complaint-based cognizance was quashed, leaving the authorities free to seek sanction and proceed according to law.

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Issues: Whether, on the allegations in the complaint and the materials on record, the acts attributed to the appellant were reasonably connected with the discharge or purported discharge of official duty so as to attract the protection of Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Analysis: Protection under Section 197 is available when the accused is a public servant not removable without Government sanction and the alleged offence is committed while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of official duty. The governing test is whether there is a reasonable and rational nexus between the official duty and the act complained of, not whether the act was strictly necessary or was allegedly exceeded in its execution. On the facts, the appellant was present in his official capacity for removal of encroachment, and the allegations in the complaint arose out of that official operation. The alleged acts were therefore sufficiently connected with the official duty to attract the statutory bar against cognizance without prior sanction.

Conclusion: Section 197 applied, and the prosecution could not proceed without prior sanction; the finding to the contrary was erroneous.

Final Conclusion: The complaint-based cognizance was quashed, while leaving the authority free to seek sanction and proceed in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: When the alleged act bears a reasonable nexus with an official duty or its purported discharge, cognizance against a protected public servant cannot be taken without prior sanction under Section 197.

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