1990 (1) TMI 264

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....ic officer' as defined in section 2(17) of the Code of Civil Procedure. Section 80 of the Code requires a notice to be issued as prescribed before instituting a suit against a public officer in respect of any act purporting to be done by such pubic officer in his official capacity. The respondent herein instituted a suit against the appellant--the Coal Mines Provident Fund Commissioner--without a notice under section 80 C.P.C. The objection in this behalf was repelled by the trial court and the High Court holding that the Coal Mines Provident Fund Commissioner is not a public officer. According to the appellant the Commissioner is a public officer within the meaning of the term occurring in section 80 of the C.P.C., and, therefore, the s....

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....d. 3C. Appointment of Officers: (1) The Central Government shall appoint a Coal Mines Provident Fund Commissioner, who shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Board and shall be subject to the general control and superintendence of the Board. 4. The method of recruitment, salary and allowances, discipline and other conditions of service of the Coal Mines Provident Fund Commissioner shall be such as may be specified by the Central Government and such salary and allowances shall be paid out of the Fund." It is thus seen that the Commissioner is an officer appointed by the Central Government as the Chief Executive Officer of the Board. Though subject to the general control of the Board, discipline and the condition of service are ....

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....ttukottai Co-operative Society, AIR 1940 Madras 831 holding that Deputy Registrar acting as Liquidator is not a public officer. The reasoning adopted is that qualiquidator he is not an officer in the service of the Government. In Vishnu Wasudeo Joshi v. T.L.H. Smith Pearse, AIR 1949 Nagpur 362 it was held that a person who was a member of the Indian Educational Service but whose services were lent to the Rajkumar College, Raipur as principal is a public officer within section 2(17)(h) and did not cease to be in the service of the Crown by reason of deputation. In Commissioner of Wakfs, Bengal v. Shahebzada Mohammed Zahangir Shah, AIR 1944 Calcutta 206 the Court said that the expression "public duty" refers to duty concerning to the af....