TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2006 (12) TMI 590
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....the same office which he allegedly abused on the date when the cognizance was taken by the Court. Stand of the appellants is that even though a public servant does not hold the same office and holds some other office, then also sanction is necessary. It is stated in that context that the decision in R.S. Nayak v A.R. Antulay (1984 (2) SCC 183) is per incuriam because the effect of Section 19(2) of the Act had not been considered. It is also submitted that the effect of the recommendations made by the Law Commission in its 41st report which necessitated sanction in terms of Section 197 of the Code extending the protection of sanction for a retired public servant as well should have been also extended under Section 6(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 (in short the '1947 Act') corresponding to Section 19(1) of the Act. This according to us is a case of causus omissus. The decision in R. S. Nayak's case (supra) cannot be regarded as a binding precedent in respect of the issues which did not relate to the three questions which were required to be decided in that case. The order rejecting the plea of lack of sanction and the jurisdiction is required to be passed by a speaking ....
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....ute or section must be construed together and every clause of a section should be construed with reference to the context and other clauses thereof so that the construction to be put on a particular provision makes a consistent enactment of the whole statute. This would be more so if literal construction of a particular clause leads to manifestly absurd or anomalous results which could not have been intended by the Legislature. "An intention to produce an unreasonable result", said Danackwerts, L.J. in Artemiou v. Procopiou (1966 1 QB 878), "is not to be imputed to a statute if there is some other construction available". Where to apply words literally would "defeat the obvious intention of the legislature and produce a wholly unreasonable result" we must "do some violence to the words" and so achieve that obvious intention and produce a rational construction. (Per Lord Reid in Luke v. IRC (1963 AC 557) where at p. 577 he also observed: "this is not a new problem, though our standard of drafting is such that it rarely emerges". 8. It is then true that, "when the words of a law extend not to an inconvenience rarely happening, but due to those which often happen, it is good reason....
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....considered by the Legislature and therefore this is a case of "causus omissus" is clearly without any substance. This Court had occasion to deal with a similar plea in Kalicharan Mahapatra v. State of Orissa (1998 (6) SCC 411). It has been noted as follows: "13. It must be remembered that in spite of bringing such a significant change to Section 197 of the Code in 1973, Parliament was circumspect enough not to change the wording in Section 19 of the Act which deals with sanction. The reason is obvious. The sanction contemplated in Section 197 of the Code concerns a public servant who "is accused of any offence alleged to have been committed by him while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty", whereas the offences contemplated in the PC Act are those which cannot be treated as acts either directly or even purportedly done in the discharge of his official duties. Parliament must have desired to maintain the distinction and hence the wording in the corresponding provision in the former PC Act was materially imported in the new PC Act, 1988 without any change in spite of the change made in Section 197 of the Code." 11. It may be noted that Sectio....
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....be lost sight of. While in the former, the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, is to grant the sanction, under clause (c) it is specifically provided that the authority competent to remove the delinquent public servant from office is one who is competent to grant the sanction. As noted earlier, Section 6(1)(b) is applicable in the present case. The said provision does not specify any particular officer as the competent authority to grant sanction. It only states that the State Government, without whose sanction the delinquent officer cannot be removed from office/post, is the competent authority to pass the order of sanction. From the sanction order, which is available on the record, it is clear that the Secretary, Medical Education Department passed/signed the order of sanction of prosecution against the appellant on behalf of the Governor. It is not the case of the appellant that the Secretary had no authority to act on behalf of the State Government. It follows that the order of sanction in the present case was passed by the Secretary of the Medical Education Department with the authority of the Governor of the State Government. No material on record ....
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....onsideration. 15. The question raised relating to recording of reasons at the time of framing of charge is different from a case of opinion on the basis of which an order of discharge of the accused is passed. Sections 227 and 228 of the Code with regard to discharge of accused and framing of charges against the accused respectively in a case triable by Court of Session; Sections 239 and 240 concern discharge and framing of charge in case of warrant, triable by the Magistrate whereas Section 245 deals with discharge and framing of charges in cases instituted other than on the police report, indicates the difference. The relevant provisions read as follows: "227-Discharge: If upon consideration of the record of the case and the documents submitted therewith, and after hearing the submissions of the accused and the prosecution in this behalf, the Judge considers that there is no sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused, he shall discharge the accused and record his reasons for so doing." "228.-Framing of Charge-(1) If, after such consideration and hearing as aforesaid, the Judge is of opinion that there is ground for presuming that the accused has com....
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....orded by such Magistrate, he considers the charge to be groundless." 16. This Court in State of Bihar v. Ramesh Singh (AIR 1977 SC 2018) observed as follows: "Reading the two provisions together in juxtaposition, as they have got to be, it would be clear that at the beginning and the initial stage of the trial the truth, veracity and effect of the evidence which the prosecutor proposes to adduce are not to be meticulously judged. Nor is any weight to be attached to the probable defence of the accused. It is not obligatory for the Judge at that stage of the trial to consider in any detail and weigh in a sensitive balance whether the facts, if proved, would be incompatible with the innocence of the accused or not. The standard of test and judgment, which is to be finally applied before recording a finding regarding the guilt or otherwise of the accused not exactly to be applied at the stage of deciding the matter under Sections 227 or Section 228 of the Code. At that stage the Court is not to see whether there is sufficient ground for conviction of the accused or whether the trial is sure to end in his conviction." 17. In Kanti Bhadra Shah and Anr. v. State of West Ben....