Rajasthan High Court - Jaipur
Nand Kishore Trivedi vs The State Of Rajasthan on 21 December, 1990
Equivalent citations: 1990WLN(UC)202
JUDGMENT B.R. Arora, J.
1. This petition Under Section 482, Cr. P.C. is directed against the order dated February 21, 1990, passed by the Special Judge, C.B.I. Cases, Jodhpur, by which the learned Special Judge rejected the application of the petitioner.
2. The petitioner, who was working as an Officer in the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, Khanda Falsa, Branch, Jodhpur, is facing trial Under Sections 409 and 420, I.P.C. read with Section 5(1)(c) and Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, in the Court of the Special Judge, C.B.I. Cases, Jodhpur. During the pendency of trial, on February 6, 1990, the petitioner moved an application, raising an objection that as he is not a 'public servant', therefore, his trial by the Special Judge, C.B.I. Cases, Jodhpur, is wholly without jurisdiction. The learned Special Judge, by his order dated February 25, 1990, rejected the application filed by the petitioner and held that the petitioner's case is recovered by Section 21(12) of the Indian Penal Code and he is, thus, a public servant.
3. I have heard the learned Counsel for the petitioner and the learned Public Prosecutor.
4. It is contended on behalf of the petitioner that the petitioner is not a public servant and his case is not covered Under Section 21(12) of the Indian Penal Code, and therefore, he cannot be tried by the Special Judge, C.B.I. Cases, Jodhpur. The learned Public Prosecutor, on the other hand, has supported the order passed by the learned Special Judge.
5. I have considered the rival submissions made by the learned Counsel for the parties.
6. The question for determination in the present case s: whether an officer of the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, which is a subsidiary bank of the State Bank of India, is a 'public servant' or not and can be tried by the Special Judge, C.B.I. Cases? Section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, states that for the purpose of this Act, 'public servant' means a 'public servant' as defined in Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code. By virtue of Anti-corruption Laws (Amendment) Act, 1964 (Act No. IX of 1964), Clause 12 of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code was substituted as follows:
Twelfth-Every person
(a) in the service of pay of the government or remunerated by fees or commission for the purpose of any public duty, by the government;
(b) in service or pay of a local authority, corporation established by or under a Central, Provincial or State Act or government company, as defined in Section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956."
By this Amendment, the definition of the 'Public Servant' was enlarged so as to include even an employee of a government company or a corporation with the object of stamping-out corruption at various levels prevailing in the country. The question: whether an Auditor, in view of Section 46A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, is a public servant or not, came-up for consideration in the case of I. P. Chopra v. State 1984 Cr. L.R. (Rajasthan) 107) and this Court came to the conclusion that Section 46A clearly provides that the Auditor of a banking company shall be deemed to be a public servant for the purpose of offences mentioned in Chaptar IX of the Indian Penal Code. It was, therefore, observed that for prosecuting the Auditor, previous sanction is required only qua the offences falling Under Chapter IX of the Indian Penal Code, but so far as the other offences are concerned, previous sanction was not required. Section 46A of the Banking Companies Regulation Act also covers the cases of other employees of the banking company. It is not in dispute that the petitioner is an Officer in banking company. So the case of the petitioner is, also, covered by it. The same question: what is the meaning of a 'public servant' Under Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code in the case of Kishan Lal Mantawal v. The State of Rajasthan and Ors. 1988 Cr. L.R. (Raj.) 781) and, after careful consideration of the various provisions of law, Hon'ble D.L. Mehta, J. observed as under:
It is not necessary that the Chairman, Director 'Auditor or Liquidator in all cases should be paid employees. The employment means there should be relationship of master and servant. The bank is not precluded from having honorary Chairman, honorary elected Directors or any elected persons to look into the interest of the Bank. Those officers who are acting honararily will be the Chairman, the Directors of the Bank, though they are not employees, and, in such circumstances, to meet out such contingency Section 46A has been inserted to deal with the persons who are not employees, can be considered as 'public servant' within the meaning of Section 21, IPC. The definition of the word 'Public servant' has been enlarged by law to give the status of 'public servant' to the persons who are not servant at all but who are dealing with the property of the State. The old Section 14 of the Banking Regulation Act of 1949 was very relevent. It provided that any servent of the State or any institution who is the custodian of the property of the State or who deals with the property of the institution, like Bank, is a public servant in all respects.
7. In view of these two judgments of this Court, the case of the petitioner is fully covered by Section 21(12) of the Indian Penal Code and the petitioner is a 'public servant'. Even otherwise, also, as per Section 4 of the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, the bank shall be a body corporate. The creation of a body corporate Under Section 4 is a creation of corporation with corporate character. If that is by, the employees of the Subsidiary banks of the State, Bank of India would squarely fall within the ambit of the expression 'public servant' since they are in the service or pay of a corporation established by or under a Central Act. Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code, also, includes the person in the service of a government company as defined in Section 617 of the Compenies Act, 1956. Section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 gives the definition of 'government company' as under:
617- Definition of 'Government Company'-For the purpose of this Act, government company means any company in which not less than 51 percent of the paid-up share capital is held by the Central Government or by any State Government or governments or partly by the Central Government and partly by one or more State Governments and includes a company which is a subsidiary of a government company as thus defined.
8. In view of the definition of 'Government Company' given in Section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956, the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, being a subsidiary banking company of the State Bank of India, is, also, a government company and the petitioner being the employee of the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, which is a government company, his case is covered by the definition of 'public servant' given Under Section 21(12) of the Indian Penal Code.
9. The State Bank of India and its subsidiary banks are statutory corporations. In making several appointments, forming the structure of the corporation, in appointment of the Board of Directors, submission of the Accounts to the Central Government, Reserve Bank of India and The State Bank of India, the government hold is quite clear. Even in the matter of laying down the policy, these banks are guide by the directions issued by the Central Government or by the State Bank of India or by the Reserve Bank of India. In this view of the matter, the petitioner is a public servant in view of the provisions of Section 21(12) of the Indian Penal Code and his case is triable by the Special Judge, C.B.I. Cases, Jodhpur. The order passed by the Special Judge, C.B.I. Cases, Jodhpur is perfectly legal and just arid does not require any interference.
10. Consequently, the miscellaneous petition, filed by the petitioner has got no force and is hereby dismissed.