Writ jurisdiction cannot bypass a statutory bar against challenging Special Court discharge orders in corruption prosecutions.
Article 226 writ jurisdiction cannot be used to bypass an express statutory bar or to challenge judicial orders of a Special Court refusing discharge in proceedings under the Prevention of Corruption Act; the challenge to the charge-sheet and discharge orders was therefore held not maintainable. Alleged exoneration in departmental proceedings and a later resignation of one accused did not justify interference with the criminal case, especially where that ground was not part of the original pleadings and was raised only later by affidavit. The criminal prosecution was allowed to continue.
Issues: (i) whether a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India could be maintained to quash the charge-sheet and the order refusing discharge passed by the Special Court in proceedings under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988; (ii) whether alleged exoneration in departmental proceedings and subsequent resignation of one accused warranted interference with the criminal prosecution.
Issue (i): whether a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India could be maintained to quash the charge-sheet and the order refusing discharge passed by the Special Court in proceedings under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
Analysis: The petitioners had first invoked the revisional jurisdiction and then sought conversion of the matter into a writ petition under Article 226 after encountering the statutory objection based on the scheme of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The impugned challenge was directed against judicial orders of the Special Court refusing discharge and, in substance, sought to achieve indirectly what could not be done directly in the face of the express bar on interference with proceedings before the Special Court. The Court applied the settled principle that judicial orders of criminal courts are not amenable to challenge in writ jurisdiction merely because the party seeks a different form of relief, and that the statutory embargo cannot be circumvented by recourse to Article 226.
Conclusion: The writ challenge to the charge-sheet and the discharge orders was not maintainable and was rejected.
Issue (ii): whether alleged exoneration in departmental proceedings and subsequent resignation of one accused warranted interference with the criminal prosecution
Analysis: The plea of departmental exoneration was found to be unsupported by the original pleadings and was introduced only later by way of additional affidavit. The Court held that a ground not laid before the trial court and not founded in the petition could not be allowed to displace the criminal prosecution. The contention based on resignation and departmental clearance was therefore treated as insufficient to justify quashing, especially in a petition already found to be legally misdirected on maintainability.
Conclusion: The plea based on departmental proceedings and resignation did not warrant quashing of the criminal case.
Final Conclusion: The petition failed on maintainability and substance, and the criminal proceedings were allowed to continue.
Ratio Decidendi: A writ petition under Article 226 cannot be used to bypass an express statutory bar or to challenge judicial orders of a criminal court refusing discharge; such proceedings must be pursued through the remedies provided by law, not by indirect recourse to writ jurisdiction.
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