Section 324 in Rules under the United Provinces Excise Act, 1910
324.
Relevant paragraphs in respect of the procedure regarding defence of Excise Personnel involved in Civil or Criminal Proceedings in the course of legitimate discharge of their official duties are reproduce below from the Manual of Government Orders for guidance of the Staff :(1)Report regarding public servants interested in judicial proceedings. - When in any suit or other judicial proceeding any person interested therein is described as, or ascertained to be, a public servant, the presiding officer should, after giving his decision, inform the Chief Executive Officer in the district of the department to which such public servant belongs, of any circumstances in the case affecting personally the public servant mentioned.(2)Defence in judicial proceedings involving Government servants. - Every Government servant against whom Civil or Criminal proceedings are instituted otherwise than by Government, in respect of any act purporting to have been done in his official capacity, will be defended at the expenses of the State when he desires to be so defended; provided that Government are satisfied that such a course is necessary. Further reference on this subject should be made to the Legal Remembrancer's Manual in regard to Civil suits, and to Appendix 'J' of Excise Manual, Volume II, in the case of Criminal Proceedings.(3)Prosecution of officers. - Before Criminal Proceedings are instituted against an official other than a police officer for misconduct in connection with his public duties the officer instituting the prosecution should see that the procedure laid down in paragraph 72 of Manual of Government Orders has been observed and that any sanction required by Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has been obtained.Note. - In Bhup Narain Saxena v. State, Criminal Miscellaneous Case No. 720 of 1951 the High Court of Allahabad held that prosecution of public servant under Sections 409, 471, 420 and 477-A, of the Indian Penal Code can be launched without the sanction of Government or the appropriate authority.
