Criminal Appeal No 400 of 1979
From the Judgment and Order dated 27479 of the Madras High Court in Criminal Misc
P No 265 of 1978
216 Kapil Sibal BRL Iyengar KV Mohan SR Setia KR Nambiar and AK Nigam for the Appellant
AD Giri Solicitor General KTS Tulsi Additional Solicitor General AM Khanwilkar and P Parmeswaran for the Respondent
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by RAY J
I have had the advantage of deciphering the two draft judgments prepared by my learned brothers Shetty and Verma JJ
I agree with the conclusions arrived at by my learned brother Shetty J Yet considering the great impor tance of the questions involved in this matter I deem it just and proper to consider the same and to express my own views
Three very important questions fall for decision in this case
First of all whether a Judge of the Supreme Court or a Judge of a High Court is a public servant within the meaning of Section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947
Section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act interprets a public servant as meaning a public servant as defined in section 21 of the Indian Penal Code ie Act 45 of 1860
Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code states that a public servant denotes a person falling under any of the descrip tion mentioned therein Third Every Judge including any person empowered by law to discharge whether by himself or as a member of any body of persons any adjudicarory functions
 Thus the definition of a public servant is very wide enough to include Judges of the Supreme Court as well as Judges of the High Court
Section 77 of the Indian Penal Code provides immunity to the Judges in respect of any act done by a Judge when acting judicially in the exercise of any power which is or which in good faith he believes to be given to him by law
The next question is whether a judge of the Supreme Court or a Judge of High Court including the Chief Justice of the High Court can be prosecuted for having committed the offence of criminal misconduct as referred to in clause e of sub section 1 of section 5 of the Prevention of Corrup tion Act 1947
Provisions of clause e of section 51 are as follows 217 if he or any person on his behalf is in possession or has at any time during the period of his office been in possession for which the public servant cannot satisfactorily account of pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to his known sources of income
 Therefore it is clear that a Judge will be liable for committing criminal misconduct within the meaning of clause e of sub section 1 of section 5 of the said Act if he has in his possession pecuniary resources or property dis proportionate to his known sources of income for which the public servant or a Judge as the public servant cannot satisfactorily account
Section 61c specifically enjoins that no court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under Section 5 of this Act alleged to have been committed by a public servant ie the Judge of the High Court includ ing the Chief Justice of the High Court as in the present case except with the previous sanction under clause c in the case of any other person of the authority competent to remove him from his office
So to initiate a proceeding against a Judge of a Supreme Court for criminal misconduct failing under Section 51e previous sanction of the authority who is competent to remove a Judge including Chief Justice of the High Court from his office is imperative
A Judge of the Supreme Court as well as a Judge of the High Court is a constitutional functionary appointed under Article 124 and under Article 217 of the Constitution re spectively
Sub article 2 of Article 124 further provides that every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as the President may deem necessary for the purpose and shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty five years
It also provides that in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice the Chief Justice of India shall always be consulted
Article 217 provides that every Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with the Chief Justice of India the Governor of the State and in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief justice the Chief Justice of the High Court
Sub article 4 of the said article 124 further enjoins that a Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total member ship of that House and by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members of that House present and voting has 218 been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity
Sub article 5 also provides that Parliament may by law regulate the procedure for the presentation of an address and for the investigation and proof of the misbehaviour or incapacity of a Judge under clause 4
Article 2 18 states that provisions of clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 shall apply in relation to a High Court
On a plain reading of the provisions of sub article 4 of Article 124 a Judge of the Supreme Court can only be re moved on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members of that House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or inca pacity
In other words the President cannot on its own remove a Judge of the Supreme Court unless an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members of that House present and voting is passed and presented to him for removal of the Judge on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity
Therefore the repository of this power is not in the Presi dent alone but it is exercised after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two third of the members of that House is presented to the President
Without such an address by each of the House of the Parliament the President is not empowered under the Constitution to order removal Of a Judge of the Supreme Court from his office
Article 2 18 lays down that a Judge of the High Court may be removed from his office by the President in the manner provided under clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124
So viewing the aforesaid constitutional provisions for removal of a Judge for proved misbehaviour or incapacity it is imperative that each House of the Parlia ment shall make an address to the President after the same is supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority for not less than two thirds of the members of that House present and voting
Unless that ad dress is presented to the President in the same session for such removal the President is not empowered under the Constitution to make the order for removal of the Judge of the Supreme Court of India or of the Judge of the High Court on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity
Of course the power of the President to remove a Judge of the Supreme Court or of the High Court is to be 219 exercised by the President in the manner expressly laid down in clause 4 of Article 124
In the case of Union of India vs Sankalchand AIR 1977 SC 2328 it has been observed by majority of the Constitution Bench that there is no need or justification in order to uphold or protect the independ ence of the judiciary for construing Article 2221 to mean that a Judge cannot be transferred from one High Court to another without his consent
The power to transfer a High Court Judge is conferred by the Constitution in public inter est and not for the purpose of providing the executive with a weapon to punish a Judge who does not toe its line or who for some reason or the other has fallen from its grace
The executive possesses no such power under our Constitution and if it can be shownthough we see the difficulties in such showing that a transfer of a High Court Judge is made in a given case for an extraneous reason the exercise of the power can appropriately be struck down as being vitiated by legal mala fides
The extraordinary power which the Constitution has conferred on the President by article 2221 cannot be exercised in a manner which is calculated to defeat or destroy in one stroke the object and purpose of the various provisions conceived with such care to insulate the judiciary from the influence and pressures of the executive
The power to punish a High Court Judge if one may so describe it is to be found only in article 2 18 read with article 1244 and 5 of the Constitu tion under which a Judge of the High Court can be removed from his office by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less then two thirds of the members of that House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity
Thus if the power of the President who has to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers to transfer a High Court Judge for reasons not bearing on public interest but arising out of whim caprice or fancy of the executive or its desire to bend a Judge to its own way of thinking there is no possibility of any interference with the independence of the judiciary if a Judge is transferred without his consent
The same view about the independence of the judiciary from the con 220 trol of the executive has been spelt out by the observations of the Constitution Bench of Seven Judges in the case of SP Gupta  Ors
vs President of India and Ors
 AIR 1982 SC 149
The concept of independence of judiciary is a noble concept which inspires the Constitutional Scheme and constitute the foundation on which rests the edifice of our democratic polity
If there is one principle which runs through the entire fabric of the Constitution it is the principle of the rule of law and under the Constitution it is the judiciary which is entrusted with the task of keeping every organ of the State within the limits of the law and thereby making the rule of law meaningful and effective
It is to aid the judiciary in this task that the power of judicial review has been conferred upon the judiciary and it is by exercising this power which constitutes one of the most potent weapons in armoury of the law that the judi ciary seeks to protect the citizen against violation of his constitutional or legal rights or misuse of abuse of power by the State or its officers
The judiciary stands between the citizen and the State as a bulwark against executive excesses and misuse or abuse or power by the executive and there it is absolutely essential that the judiciary must be free from executive pressure or influence and this has been secured by the Constitution makers by making elaborate provisions in the Constitution to which detailed reference has been made in the judgments in Sankalchand Sheth s case AIR 1977 SC 2326 supra
But it is necessary to remind ourselves that the concept of independence of the judiciary is not limited only to independence from execu tive pressure or influence but it is a much wider concept which takes within its sweep independence from many other pressures and prejudices
It has many dimensions
namely fearlessness of other power centres economic or political and freedom from prejudices acquired and nourished by the class of which the Judges belong
If we may again quote the eloquent words of Justice Krishna Iyer Independence of the judiciary is not genuflexion nor is it opposition to every proposition of Government
It is neither judiciary made to opposition measure nor Government s pleasure
221 The tyceon the communalist the parochialist the faddist the extremist and radical reactionary lying coiled up and sub consciously shaping judicial menrations are menaces to judicial independence when they are at variance with parts III and IV of the Paramount Parchment
Judges should be of stern stuff and tough fibre unbending before power economic or political and they must uphold the core principle of the rule of law which says Be you ever so high the law is above you
 This is the principle of independence of the judi ciary which is vital for the establishment of real participatory democracy maintenance of the rule of law as a dynamic concept and delivery of social justice to the vulnerable sections of the community
It is this princi ple of independence of the judiciary which we must keep in mind while interpreting the relevant provisions of the Constitution
The third most crucial question that fails for consider ation in this case is who is the competent authority to remove a Judge either of the Supreme Court or of the High Court from his office in order to enable that authority to grant sanction for prosecution of the Judge under the provi sions as enjoined by Section 6 of the Prevention of Corrup tion Act 1947
Section 6 has been couched in negative terms to the following effect No Court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under Section 16 1 or Section 164 or Section 165 of the Indian Penal Code 45 of 1860 or under sub section 2 or sub section 3A of Section 5 of this Act alleged to have been committed by a public servant except with the previous sanction  c in the ease of any other person of the authority competent to remove him from his office
In order to launch a prosecution against a Judge either of the Supreme Court or of the High Court or the Chief Jus tice of the High Court previous sanction of the authority competent to remove a Judge from his office is mandatorily required
The question therefore arises who is the author ity competent to grant sanction
The Judge of the Supreme Court or the Judge of the High Court is appointed under the provisions of Article 124 or under the provisions of Article 217 respec 222 tively
A Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by the warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Court in the State as the President may deem neces sary for the purpose and shall hold office until he attains the age of 65 years
Similarly a Judge of the High Court shall be appointed by the President by the warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with the Chief Justice of India the Governor of the State and in case of an appoint ment of the Judge other than the Chief Justice the Chief Justice of the High Court and shall hold office except in the case of an additional judge till he attains the age of 62 years
It is therefore evident that a Judge of the Supreme Court as well as a Judge of the High Court is a constitutional functionary as has been observed by this Court in the decisions cited hereinbefore and to maintain the independence of the judiciary and to enable the Judge to effectively discharge his duties as a Judge and to maintain the rule of law even in respect of lis against the Central Government or the State Government
The Judge is made total ly independent of the control and influence of the executive by mandatorily embodying in article 124 or article 217 that a Judge can only be removed from his office in the manner provided in clause 4 and 5 of article 124
Thus a Judge either of the High Court or of the Supreme Court is inde pendent of the control of the executive while deciding cases between the parties including the Central Government and State Government uninfluenced by the State in any manner whatsoever
It is beyond any pale of doubt that there is no master and servant relationship or employer and employee relationship between a Judge of the High Court and the President of India in whom the executive power of the Union is vested under the provisions of Article 53 of the Consti tution
The President has not been given the sole power or the exclusive power to remove a Judge either of the Supreme Court or of the High Court from his office though the Presi dent appoints the Judge by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Court in the States as he may deem necessary for that purpose and in case of the appointment of the Judge of the High Court the President appoints a Judge by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with the Chief Justice of India the Governor of the State and in a case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Jus tice the Chief Justice of the High Court
The only mode of removal of a Judge from his office on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity is laid down in clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124
It is has been eloquently and vehemently urged on behalf of the appellant that since the Judge of the Supreme Court as well as of the High Court is a constitu tional functionary and 223 there is no employer and employee relationship or master and servant relationship between the Judge and the President of India and for that the Central Government or the State Government there is no authority to remove the Judge from his office by the executive except by taking recourse to procedure of impeachment as envisaged in Article 1244 and 5 of the Constitution of India
It has been further urged in this connection that if it is assumed that the President has the power to remove a Judge of the Supreme Court or of the High Court from his office it will do away with the independence of the judiciary and will being the judiciary under the control of the executive indirectly in as much as under Article 74 of the Constitution of India the President while exercising his executive power has to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers with the Prime Minis ter at the Head as has been held by this Court in Shamsher Singh  Anr
vs State of Punjab  and SP Gupta  Ors etc
vs Union of Inida  Ors etc
 supra
It has been therefore urged that Section 6iC of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 is not applicable to the case of a Judge of the Supreme Court or of the High Court No prosecution can be launched against a Judge of the Supreme Court or of the High Court under the provisions of the said Act except in the mode envisaged in Article 124 clauses 4 and 5 of the Constitution for removal of the Judge
The FIR in question which has been lodged against the appellant should be quashed and set aside Section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act denotes a public servant as defined in Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code 45 of 1860
It has been noticed hereinbefore that the third clause particularly of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code includes every Judge including any person empowered by law to dis charge whether by himself or as a member of any body of persons any adjudicatory functions
Therefore a Judge of the High Court or of the Supreme Court comes within the defini tion of public servant and he is liable to be prosecuted under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act
It is farthest from our mind that a Judge of the Supreme Court or that of the High Court will be immune from prosecu tion for criminal offences committed during the tenure of his office under the provisions of the Prevention of Corrup tion Act
In these circumstances the only question to be consid ered is who will be the authority or who is the authority to grant sanction for prosecution of a Judge of the High Court under section 61c of the said Act
The Judge as a con stitutional functionary being appointed by the President can only be removed by mandatory procedure provided under Arti cle 124 of the Constitution and in no other manner
The has been enacted by Parliament to regulate 224 the procedure for the investigation and proof of the misbe haviour or incapacity of a Judge of the Supreme Court under clause 5 of subsection 1 of Article 124 of the Constitu tion
The Judges Inquiry Rules 1969 have been framed under section 74 of the 
The said Act and the Rules made thereunder only provide for removal of a Judge on the ground of proved misbehaviour or inability
It does not provide for prosecution of a Judge for offences under section 51e of the Prevention of Corruption Act
It is apropos to mention in this connection that in England before the full development of ministerial responsibility impeachment was a weapon enabling the Com mons to call to account ministers appointed by and respon sible to the Crown
As the commons acquired direct control over ministers there was no need to employ the cumbersome machinery of impeachment and there has been no impeachment since 1805
As impeachment of political offenders might involve not only deprivation of office but other penalties the royal prerogative of pardon does not extend to prevent ing impeachment but extends to pardoning punishments in flicted on an impeachment
In England offices held during good behaviour may in the event of misconduct be determined by impeachment
In practice however an address to the Crown for the removal of a judge must originate in the House of Commons the procedure is judicial and the judge is entitled to be heard
There is no instance of the removal of a judge by this method since the Act of Settlement
This power to remove by impeachment or address a person holding office during good behaviour is an essential counterpart to the independence secured to the holders of high office by making their tenure one of good behaviour instead of at pleasure
Under article II section 4 US Constitution the President VicePresident and all civil officers of the United States can be removed from office on impeachment for and convic tion of Treason Bribery or other high Crimes and misde meanours
Since the President of the United States who is the highest executive authority of the State an impeach ment has been provided for and in fact President Johnson was impeached in 1867 for high crimes and misdemeanours
In 1917 Justice Archibald of the Commerce Court was removed from office by impeachment for soliciting for himself and others favours from railroad companies some of which were at the time litigants in his court in 1936 the removal of Judge Wright of the Florida Court for conduct in relation to a receivership Which evoked serious doubts as to this integ rity although he was acquitted of specific charges seem to have restored the wider view
For in neither case were the two judges found guilty of an indictable offence
It has been said that 225 As to the Judges of the United States at least lack of good behaviour  and high crimes and misdemeanours  are overlapping if not precisely coincidental concepts Seervai s Constitutional Law of India Third Edition Vol
II page 1698 paras 188 and 189
It has been urged by the Solicitor General as well as the Additional Solicitor General that the Judges of the High Court cannot be said to be exempted from prosecution in respect of offences provided in the Prevention of Corruption Act
It has been urged further that under Article 361 the President and the Governor have been given protection from being answerable to any court for the exercise and perform ance of the powers and duties of his office or for any act done or purporting to be done by him in the exercise and performance of those powers and duties
Clause 2 of the said Article further provides that no criminal proceedings what soever shall be instituted or Continued against the Presi dent or the Governor of a State in any court during his term of office
No such immunity from criminal prosecution has been provided for in the case of a Judge of the High Court or of the Supreme Court
It has therefore been urged that the High Court should ensure modalities for launching prosecution against a Judge under the said Act
Undoubtedly respect for the judiciary and its public credibility and dignity has to be maintained in order to ensure respect for the Judges in public and also for the decisions rendered by the judges
It is therefore necessary to evolve some method commensurate with the grant of sanction in cases of serious allegation corruption and acquisition or the posses sion of disproportionate assets which the Judge cannot satisfactorily account for or possession of property dispro portionate to the sources of income of the Judge
If these things are allowed to go unnoticed it will create a serious inroad on the dignity respect and credibility and integrity of the High Office which a Judge of the Supreme Court and of the High Court occupies resulting in the erotion on the dignity and respect for the high office of the Judges in the estimation of the public
As has been suggested by my learned Brother Shetty J that the President is given the power to appoint the Judges of the Supreme Court as well as of the High Court by warrant under his hand and seal and similarly even after passing of an address by both the Houses of the Parliament in the manner provided in Article 124 clauses 4 and 5 and placed before the President a Judge cannot be removed from his office unless and order to that effect is passed by the President
The President therefore has the power to appoint as well as to remove a Judge from his office on the ground of 226 proved misbehaviour or incapacity as provided in Article 124 of the Constitution
The President therefore being the authority competent to appoint and to remove a Judge of course in accordance with the procedure envisaged in Article 124 clauses 4 and 5 of the Constitution may be deemed to be the authority to grant sanction for prosecution of a Judge under the provisions of Section 61c in re spect of the offences provided in section 51e of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947
In order to adequately protect a Judge from frivolous prosecution and unnecessary harassment the President will consult the Chief Justice of India who will consider all the materials placed before him and tender his advice to the President for giving sanction to launch prosecution or for filing FIR against the Judge concerned after being satisfied in the matter
The President shall act in accordance with advice given by the Chief Justice of India If the Chief Justice of India
If the chief Justices of opinion that it is not a fit case for grant of sanction for prosecution of the Judge concerned the Presi dent shall not accord sanction to prosecute the JudgeThis will save the Judge concerned from unnecessary harassment as weal as from frivolous prosecution against him as suggested by my learned brother Shetty J in his judgment
Similarly in the case of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court the Presi dent shall consult such of the Judges of the Supreme Court as he may deem fit and proper and the President shall act in accordance with the advice given to him by the Judge or Judges of the Supreme Court
The purpose of grant of previ ous sanction before prosecuting a public servant ie a Judge of the High Court or of the Supreme Court is to pro tect the Judge from unnecessary harassment and frivolous prosecution more particularly to save the Judge from the biased prosecution for giving judgment in a case which goes against the Government or its officers though based on good reasons and rule of law
Mention may be made in this connec tion to the decision in CK Daphtary vs
OP Gupta AIR 197 1 SC 1132 wherein it has been observed It seems to us that whoever drafted the Impeachment Motion drafted it with a view to bring the facts within the meaning of the express misbehaviour in Article 1244 for he must have realised that to say that a Judge has committed errors even gross errors cannot amount to misbehaviour
The contention that frivolous prosecution can be launched against a Judge for giving a judgment against the Central Government or any of its Officers is of no avail in as much as such decision does not amount to misbehaviour within the meaning of the Article 124 of the Constitution
227 It is also necessary to mention in this connection that the appellant resigned his post of Chief Justice when FIR was lodged by the CBI and so he ceased to be a public serv ant on the date of lodging the FIR against him by the CBI
The scope and applicability of section 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act came to be considered in the case of RS Nayak vs
AR Antulay  before a Constitution Bench of this Court where it has been observed Section 6 bars the Court from taking cogni zance of the offences therein enumerated alleged to have been committed by a public servant except with the previous sanction of the competent authority empowered to grant the requisite sanction   
Section 6 creates a bar to the court from taking cogni zance of offences therein enumerated except with the previous sanction of the authority set out in clause a b  c of sub sec
The object underlying such provision Was to save the public servant from the harassment of frivolous or unsubstantiated allegations
The policy underlying Sec 6 and similar sections is that there should not be unneces sary harassment of public servant CR Bansi vs State of Maharashtra  Existence thus of a valid sanction is a pre requisite to the taking of cognizance of the enumerated offences alleged to have been committed by a public servant
The bar is to the taking of cognizance of offence by the court
Therefore when the court is called upon to take cognizance of such offences it must enquire whether there is a valid sanction to prosecute the public servant for the of fence alleged to have been committed by him as public servant
Undoubtedly the accused must be a public  servant when he is alleged to have committed the offence of which he is accused because Sections 161 164 165 IPC and Sec
52 of the 1947 Act clearly spell out that the offences therein defined can be committed by a public servant
If it is con templated to prosecute public servant who has committed such offences when the court is called upon to take cognizance of the offence a sanction ought to be available otherwise the court would have no jurisdiction to take cognizance of the offence
A trial without a valid sanction where one is necessary under section 6 has been held to be a trial without jurisdiction by the court
RR Chari vs State of UP and SN Bose vs State of Bihar In Mohd Iqbal Ahmed vs State of AP it was held that the terminus 228 a quo for a valid sanction is the time when the court is called upon to take cognizance of the offence
Therefore when the offence is alleged to have been committed the accused was a public servant but by the time the court is called upon to take cognizance of the offence committed by him as public servant he has ceased to be public servant no sanction would be necessary for taking cognizance of the offence against him
This approach is in accord with the policy underlying Sec 6 in that a public servant is not to be exposed to harassment of a frivolous or speculative prosecution
If he has ceased to be a public servant in the meantime this vital considera tion ceases to exist
 In the present appeal the appellant ceases to be a public servant as h resigned from the office
Therefore at the time of filing the FIR the appellant ceases to be a public servant and so no sanction under Sec
61c of the said act is necessary
The main plank of the argument regarding sanction is therefore non existent
In these circumstances the judgment and order of the High Court dismissing the application under Secll
482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is in my considered opinion wholly in accordance with law and as such the Order of the High Court has to be upheld in any circumstances
I agree with the conclusion of my learned brother Shetty J
The appeal is therefore dismissed
The trial of Criminal Case No 4677 filed by the Respondent be proceeded with
K JAGANNATHA SHETTY J
This appeal by certificate under Articles 1321 and 1341e of the Constitution has been filed by the former Chief Justice of the Madras High Court against the Full Bench decision of the same High Court refusing to quash the criminal proceedings taken against him
The appeal raises the questions of singular importance and consequence to Judges of the High Courts and this Apex Court
The central issue is whether the Judges could be prosecuted for offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947  the Act 
The background of the case in the barest outline is as follows The appellant started his life as an Advocate in the High Court of Madras
He joined the Madras Bar in 1941
In 1953 he was appointed as Assistant Government Pleader
In 1959 he became Government Pleader
He held that post till 20 February 1960 when he was elevated to the Bench as a perma nent Judge of the Madras High Court
On 229 1 May 1969 he became the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court
During his tenure as the Judge and Chief Justice he was said to have acquired assets disproportionate to the known source of income
The complaint in this regard was made to the Delhi Special Police Establishment CBI
On 24 February 1976 the CBI registered a case against him with issuance of a First Information Report which was filed in one of the Courts at New Delhi
It was alleged in the First Information Report that taking into consideration the sources of income of the appellant as a Judge and Chief Justice of the High Court and the mode and style of his living with the probable expenses required during the period of his JudgeshipChief Justiceship it is reasonably be lieved that the appellant cannot satisfactorily account fox the possession of assets which are far disproportion he to his known source of income
It was further alleged that he has committed offences under Section 52 read with clauses bd and e of Section 51 of the Act
On 28 February 1976 a copy of the First Information Report was personally taken by the Investigating Officer to Madras and it was filed before the Court of Special Judge Madras
The appel lant on coming to know of these developments proceeded on leave from 9 March 1976 and subsequently retired on 8 April 1976 on attaining the age of superannuation
The investigation of the case by CBI was however con tinued with the culmination of filing a final report
On 15 December 1977 a final report under Section 1732 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Cr PC was filed against the appellant before the Special Judge Madras
The report under Section 1732 is generally called as the charge sheet and we would also prefer to term it as the charge sheet
The charge sheet inter alia states that the appellant after assuming
office as the Chief Justice of Madras gradually commenced accumulation of disproportionate assets etc
That for the period between 1 May 1969 to 24 February 1976 he was in possession of the pecuniary resources and property disproportionate by Rs64141636 to the known sources of income over the same period
It was in his own name and in the names of his wife Smt
Eluthai Ammal and his two sons Shri V Suresh and Shri V Bhaskar
The appellant cannot satisfactorily account for such disproportionate assets
The appellant has thereby committed the offence of criminal misconduct under clause e of Section 51 which is punish able under Section 52 of the Act
The particulars of the disproportionate assets and the income of the appellant during the aforesaid period have been fully set out in the charge sheet
On perusing the charge sheet the learned Special Judge appears to have issued process for appearance of the appellant but the appel 230 lant did not appear there
He moved the High Court of Madras under Section 482 of the Cr
PC to quash that criminal proceedings before the High Court he contended that the proceedings initiated against him were unconstitutional wholly without jurisdiction illegal and void
The Full Bench of the High Court by majority view has dismissed his case
However in view of the importance of the Constitu tional questions involved in the case the High Court granted certificate for appeal to this Court
It may be noted that before the High Court every conceivable point was argued
They are various and varied
We may briefly refer to those contentions not for the pur pose of examining them since most of them have not been pressed before us but only to indicate as to how the appel lant projected his case
It was inter alia contended that the Judges of the High Court and Supreme Court shall not be answerable before the ordinary criminal courts but only answerable to Parliament
The Parliament alone could deal with their misbehaviour under the provisions of Articles 1244 and 5 read with Articles 217 and 218 of the Consti tution
The Judge shall hold office until the age of super annuation subject to earlier removal for proved misbehaviour or incapacity
This protection to Judges will be defeated if they are compelled to stand trial for offence committed while discharging duties of their office even before retire ment
Even the Parliament or the State Legislatures are not competent to make laws creating offences in matters relating to discharge of Judge s duties
Any such law would vitiate the scheme and the federal structure of the Constitution particularly the scheme of Article 1244 read with Article 2 17 and 2 18
If the Legislatures are held to have powers to create offence for which Judges could be tried in ordi nary criminal Courts then it may affect the very independ ence of the Judiciary and the basic structure of the Consti tution
Though the definition of public servant under Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code may include a Judge of the Higher Judiciary since the Judge is not employed in connection with the affairs of the Union or State  the definition Should be narrowed down only to Judges other man the Judges of the Higher Judiciary
The jurisdiction of the CBI to register the case against the appellant and to investigate the offence was also questioned
The issuance of the First Information RepOrt and the subsequent filing of the charge sheet were impeached
It was alleged that they were actuated by collat eral considerations
Alternatively it was claimed that even assuming that all the allegations against the appellant are true it will not constitute an offence under clause e of Section 51 of the Act since ingredients of the offence are not present in the case
The last and 231 perhaps the most important contention urged before the High Court was regarding the necessity to obtain prior sanction from the competent authority for prosecution of the appellant as required under Section 6 of the Act
And since there was no such sanction obtained the Court has no juris diction to take cognizance of the case
Mr Justice Mohan with whom Mr Justice Natarajan as he then was joined rejected all the contentions in a well considered judgment
The views expressed by Mohan J on all the issues except on the last one need not be set out here since all those issues have not been raised before us
On the last aspect relating to the requirement of prior sanction for prosecution of the appellant the learned Judge held that since the appellant has retired from serv ice and was no longer a public servant  on the date of filing the charge sheet the sanction for his prosecution required under Section 6 of the Act is not warranted
The third Judge Mr Justice Balasubramanyan in a separate judg ment has concurred with the majority views on most of the questions
He has however differed on three points out of which one alone need be mentioned
The other two have not been supported before us by counsel for the appellant
The learned Judge has dealt with the ingredients of the offence under clause e of Section 51 with which the appellant was charged
While analysing ingredients of the offence he went on to state that the gist of the offence is not the possession of assets merely
Nor even the sheer excess of assets over income but the inability of the public servant in not being able to satisfactorily account for the excess
He observed that clause e of Section 51 of the Act places the burden of establishing unsatisfactory accounting squarely on the prosecution
In order to properly discharge this burden cast by the section it Would be necessary for the Investigating Officer first of all to call upon the public servant to account for the disproportionate assets
He must then proceed to record his own finding on the expla nation of the public servant
He must state whether it is satisfactory or not
And the offence complained of under clause e of Section 51 is not made out without such exercise and finding by the Investigating Officer
The learned Judge however was careful enough to modulate his reasoning so that it may be in conformity with the constitu tional protection guaranteed to the accused under Article 203 of the Constitution Article 203 provides that no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself
The learned Judge said that in view of Article 203 the Investigating Officer has no power to compel the accused to give his explanation for his dispro portionate assets but he must necessarily ask the public servant for an account
232 In this case
the accused appellant has voluntarily submitted his statement of assets and income to the Investi gating Officer in the course of investigation
Balasubraman yan J however seems to have ignored that statement and focussed his attention on the default of the Investigating Officer in not calling upon the appellant to account for the disproportionate assets  In that view he held that the chargesheet could not be sustained and accordingly quashed the prosecution
Before us counsel for the appellant advanced only two propositions
The first concerns with the ingredients of the offence alleged and the requirements of the charge sheet filed against the appellant
It also involves the duties of the Investigating Officer
In this regard counsel sought to support the views expressed by Balasubramanyan J in his dissenting judgment
The second proposition relates to the inapplicability of the Act to Judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court
The essence of the submissions made on this aspect is based on the special status and role of Judges of the higher judiciary and in the need to safeguard judicial independence consistent with the constitutional provisions
We will take up the second question first for considera tion because
if it is determined in favour of the appel lant the first becomes academic and wc may conveniently leave it out
For a proper consideration of the submissions made by counsel on both sides the attention may be drawn to the relevant provisions of the Act
Section 2 provides 2
For the purposes of this Act public servant means a public servant as defined in Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code
 Section 4 provides 4
1 Where in any trial of an of fence punishable under section 16 1 or section 165 of the Indian Penal Code or of an offence referred to in clause a or clause b of sub section 1 of section 5 of this Act punisha ble under subsection 2 thereof it is proved that an accused person has accepted or obtained or has agreed to accept or attempted to obtain for himself or for any other per son any gratification other than legal remuneration or any valuable thing from any person it shall be presumed unless the contrary is 233 proved that he accepted or obtained or agreed to accept or attempted to obtain that grati fication or that valuable thing as the case may be as a motive or reward such as is mentioned in the said section 161 or as the case may be without consideration or for a consideration which he knows to be inadequate
2 Where in any trial of an offence punisha ble under section 165A of the Indian Penal Code or under clause ii of sub section 3 of section 5 of this Act it is proved that any gratification other than legal remunera tion or any valuable thing has been given or offered to be given or attempted to be given by an accused person it shall be presumed unless the contrary is proved that he gave or offered to give or attempted to give that gratification or that valuable thing as the case may be as a motive or reward such as is mentioned in section 161 of the Indian Penal Code or as the case may be without consider ation or for a consideration which he knows to be inadequate
3 Notwithstanding anything contained in sub sections 1 and 2 the court may decline to draw the presumption referred to in either of the said sub sections if the gratification or thing aforesaid is in its opinion so trivial that no inference of corruption may fairly be drawn Two other provisions are more material namely section 5 and section 6 and must be set out in full
Section 5 provides 51 A public servant is said to commit the offence of criminal misconduct a if he habitually accepts or obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain from any person for himself or for any other per son any gratification other than legal remuneration as a motive or reward such as is mentioned in section 161 of the Indian Penal Code or b if he habitually accepts or obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain for himself or for any other person any valuable thing without consideration or for a con 234 sideration which he knows to be inadequate from any person whom he knows to have been or to be or to be likely to be concerned in any proceeding or business transacted or about to be transacted by him or having any connection with the official functions of himself or of any public servant to whom he is subordinate or from any person whom he knows to be inter ested in or related to the person so con cerned or c if he dishonestly or fraudulenty misap propriates or otherwise converts for his own use any property entrusted to him or under his control as a public servant or allows any other person so to do or d if he by corrupt or illegal means or by otherwise abusing his position as public servant obtains for himself or for any other person any valuable thing or pecuniary advan tage or e if he or any person on his behalf is in possession or has at any time during the period of his office been in possession for which the public servant cannot satisfactorily account of pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to his known sources of income
2 Any public servant who commits criminal misconduct shall be punishable with imprison ment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine Provided that the court may for any special reasons recorded in writing impose a sentence of imprisonment of less than one year
3 Whoever habitually commits i an offence punishable under section 162 or section 163 of the Indian Penal Code or ii an offence punishable under section 165 A of the Indian Penal Code shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which 235 shall not be less than one year but which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine Provided that the court may for any special reasons recorded in writing impose a sentence of imprisonment of less than one year
3A Whoever attempts to commit an offence referred to in clause c or clause d of sub section 1 shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or with both
3B Where a sentence of fine is imposed under subsection 2 or sub section 3 the court in fixing the amount of fine shall take into consideration the amount or the value of the property if any which the accused person has obtained by committing the offence or where the conviction is for an offence referred to in clause e of subsection 1 the pecuniary resources or property referred to in that clause for which the accused person is unable to account satisfactorily
4 The provisions of this section shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any other law for the time being in force and nothing contained herein shall exempt any public servant from any proceeding which might apart from this section be instituted against him
Section 6 is in the following terms 6
No court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under section 161 or section 164 or section 165 of the Indian Penal Code or under sub section 2 or sub section 3A of section 5 of this Act alleged to have been committed by a public servant except with the previous sanction a in the case of a person who is employed in connection with the affairs of the Union and is not removable from his office save by or with the sanction of the Central Government of the State Government b in the case of a person who is employed in connection with the affairs of a State and is not removable from his 236 office save by or with the sanction of the Central Government of the State Government c in the case of any other person of the authority competent to remove him from his office
2 Where for any reason whatsoever any doubt arises whether the previous sanction as re quired under sub section 1 should be given by the Central or State Government or any other authority such sanction shall be given by that Government or authority which would have been competent to remove the public servant from his office at the time when the offence was alleged to have been committed
It will be convenient if at this stage we also read Section Omitting the immaterial clauses Section 5A is in these terms 5A
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 no police officer below the rank a in the case of the Delhi Special Police Establishment of an Inspector of Police b in the presidency towns of Calcutta and Madras of an Assistant Commissioner of Po lice c in the presidency towns of Bombay of a Superintendent of Police and d elsewhere of a Deputy Superintendent of Police shall investigate any offence punishable under Section 161 section 165 or section 165A of the Indian Penal Code or under section 5 of this Act without the order of a Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class as the case may be or make any arrest there for without a warrant Provided that if a police officer not below the rank of an Inspector of Police is autho rised by the State Government in this behalf by general or special order he may also investigate any such offence without the order of a Presi 237 dency Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class as the case may be or make arrest therefor without a warrant Provided further that an offence referred to in clause e of sub section 1 of Section 5 shall not be investigated without the order of a police officer not below the rank of a Superintendent of Police
The Act was intended to suppress bribery and corruption in public administration and it contains stringent provi sions
Section 4 raises presumption unless the contrary is proved by the accused in respect of offence punishable under section 161 or section 165 of the Indian Penal Code or of an offence referred to in clause a or clause b of section 51 of the Act
Section 5 of the Act creates offence of criminal misconduct on the part of a public servant
The public servant defined under section 2 means a public serv ant as defined in Section 21 of the IPC
Section 21 of the IPC is not really defining public servant but enumerating the categories of public servants
It has enumerated as many as twelve categories of public servants
Section 52 pro vides punishment for such an offence of criminal misconduct up to a term of 7 years or with fine or with both
Section 6 prohibits Courts from taking cognizance of an offence unless certain condition is complied with
We will have an occasion to consider the provisions of Section 6 in detail and for the present we may deal only with the condition prescribed by the Section for a Court to take cognizance of an offence The condition prescribed therein is the previous sanction of a competent authority
The public servant cannot be prosecuted for offences specified in the Section unless there is prior sanction for prosecution from the competent authority
It may be of importance to remember that the power to take cognizance of an offence is vested in the Court of competent jurisdiction
Section 6 is primarily concerned to see that prosecution for the specified offences shall not commence without the sanction of a competent authority
That does not mean that the Act was intended to condone the offence of bribery
and corruption by public servant
Nor it was meant to afford protection to public servant from criminal prosecution for such offences
It is only to protect the honest public servants from frivolous and vexatious prosecution
The competent authority has to examine independently and impartially the material on record to form his own opinion whether the offence alleged is frivolous or vexatious
The competent authority may refuse sanction for prosecution if the offence alleged has no material to support or it is frivolous or intended to harass the honest officer
But he cannot refuse to grant sanction if the material collected has made out 238 the commission of the offence alleged against the public servant
Indeed he is duty bound to grant sanction if the material collected lend credence to the offence complained of
There seems to be another reason for taking away the discretion of the investigating agency to prosecute or not to prosecute a public servant
When a public servant is prosecuted for an offence which challenges his honesty and integrity the issue in such a case is not only between the prosecutor and the offender but the State is also vitally concerned with it as it affects the morale of public serv ants and also the administrative interest of the State
The discretion to prosecute public servant is taken away from the prosecuting agency and is vested in the authority which is competent to remove the public servant
The authority competent to remove the public servant would be in a better position than the prosecuting agency to assess the material collected in a dispassionate and reasonable manner and determine whether sanction for prosecution of a public servant deserves to be granted or not
Section 6 may now be analysed
Clause a of Section 61 covers public servants employed in connection with the affairs of the Union
The prescribed authority for giving prior sanction for such persons would be the Central Govern ment
Clause b of Section 61 covers public servants employed in connection with the affairs of the State
The authority competent to give prior sanction for prosecution of such persons would be the State Government
Clauses a and b would thus cover the cases of public servants who are employed in connection with the affairs of the Union or State and are not removable from their office save by or with the sanction of the Central Government or the State Government
That is not the end
The Section goes further in clause c to cover the remaining categories of public servants
Clause c states that in the case of any other person the sanction would be of the authority competent to remove him from his office
Section 6 is thus all embracing bringing within its fold all the categories of public serv ants as defined under Section 21 of the IPC
It is common ground that clauses a and b of Section 61 of the Act cannot cover the Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court since they are not employed in connec tion with the affairs of the Union or State
The question is whether they could be brought within the purview of clause c of Section 61
Mr Kapil Sibal learned Counsel for the appellant stressed the need to read clause c in ejusdem generis to clauses a and b
According to him the entire Section 6 seems to apply only to such public servants where there is relationship of master and servant between them and their employer
239 If there is no relationship of master and servant as be tween public servant and the authority to appoint him clause c has no application to the public servant
So far as the Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court are concerned it was contended that there is no relationship of master and servant between them and the Governmentand clause c of Section 61 is inapplicable to them
It is true that the relationship of master and servant as is ordinarily understood in common law does not exist between the Judges of higher judiciary and the Government
Where there is relationship of master and servant the master would be in commanding position
He has power over the employee not only to direct what work the servant is to do but also the manner in which the work is to be done
The servant undertakes to serve the master and obey the reasona ble orders within the scope of his duty
It is implicit in such relationship that the servant may disobey the master s order only at his peril
But there is no such relationship between the Judges and their appointing authority that is the Government
The Judges are not bound nor do they under take to obey any order of the Government within the scope of their duties
Indeed they are not Judges if they allow themselves to be guided by the Government in the performance of their duties
In Union of India vs SH Sheth  at 450 Chandrachud J as he then was has illu mined this idea the Judges owe their appointment to the Constitution and hold a position of privilege under it
They are required to uphold the Constitution and the laws  wit hout fear  that is without fear of the Executive and without favour  that is without expecting a favour from the Executive
There is thus a fundamental distinction between the master and servant relationship between the Government and the Judges of High Courts and the Supreme Court
 But we cannot accept the contention urged for the appellant that clause c should be read in ejusdem generis to clauses a and b of Section 61 of the Act
The application of the ejusdem generis rule is only to general word following words which are less general or the general word following particular and specific words of the same nature
In such a case the general word or expression is to be read as com prehending only things of the same kind as that designated by the preceding specific words or expressions
The general word is presumed to be restricted to the same genus as those of the particular and specific words
See Maxwell on The Interpretation of Statutes 12th Ed
p 297
What do we have here Section 21 of the IPC while defining public servant has denoted as many as twelve categories of per sons
It includes not only the State and Central Government employees but also others like Judge juryman assessor 240 and arbitrator
It also includes every person in the service or pay of the Government or remunerated by fees or commis sion by the Government
Each category is different from other and there is hardly any relationship of master and servant in some of the categories
The provisions of clauses a and b of Section 61 of the Act covers certain cate gories of public servants and the other  which means re maining categories are brought within the scope of clause c
Clause c is independent of and separate from the preceding two clauses
The structure oil the section does not permit the applicability of the rule of ejusdem generis
There are however two requirements for the applicabil ity of clause c of Section 61 to a Judge of the higher judiciary
First the Judge must be a public servant
Sec ond there must be an authority competent to remove the Judge from his office
If these two requirements are com plied with a Judge cannot escape from the operation on the Act
On the first requirement there is little doubt and also not seriously disputed by counsel for the appellant
His approach however is to limit the operation of clause c only to Judges of the Subordinate judiciary
But we do not find any sustainance in that approach
From the very com mencement of the IPC Every Judge finds a place in the categories of public servant defined under Section 21 of IPC
It was specifically denoted in the third category of public servant under Section 21 of IPC
In 1962 the Government of India constituted a Committee chaired by CK Santhanam MP to suggest improvements in the provisions of the Act
Nine specific terms of references were made to the Committee
The Fourth term of reference made to the Committee reads to suggest changes in law which would ensure speedy trial of cases of bribery corrup tion and criminal misconduct and make the law otherwise more effective The Committee collected a lot of material from the public relating to the nature of corruption in the administration
It was represented to the Committee by the public that corruption has increased to such an extent that people have started losing faith in the integrity of public administration
We heard from all sides the Committee reported that corruption has in recent years spread even to those levels of administration from which it was conspic uously absent in the past See Santhanam Committee Re port paras 212215 and 216
The Committee submitted its report on 31st March 1964
While examining the Fourth term of reference extracted above the Committee in Section 7 of its report considered the question of amendments to the IPC
The Committee drew particular 241 attention to the definition of public servant  in Section 21 of the IPC
Under paragraph 76 of the Report the Com mittee has suggested that the present definition of public servant  under Section 21 of the IPC requires to be en larged
It has stated among others that a further category should be added to include all persons discharging adjudica tory functions under any Union or State Law for the time being in force  Under para 77 the Committee recommended that the third category under Section 21 of the IPC may be amended as stated below Third Every Judge including any person en trusted with adjudicatory functions in the course of enforcement of any law for the time being in force
 This recommendation led to the enactment of Anti Corrup tion Laws Amendment Act 1964 Act No 40 of 1964 The Parliament by passing this enactment has reenacted Section 21 with the third category as follows 21 public servant  The words public serv ant  denote a person falling under any of the descriptions hereinafter following namely Third Every Judge including any person empow ered by law to discharge whether by himself or as a member of any body of persons any adjudicatory functions
 It will be seen that the Parliament has not only retained the expression Every Judge in the original enumeration of public servant under Section 21 of the IPC but also enlarged the expression to include any person empowered by law to discharge any adjudicatory functions
Reference may also be made to Section 19 of the IPC in which Judge is defined
Section 19 reads 19
Judge The word Judge denotes not only every person who is officially designated as a Judge but also every person who is empowered by law to give in any legal proceeding civil or criminal a definitive judgment or a judgment which if not appealed against would be definitive or a judgment which if confirmed by some other authority would be definitive or 242 who is one of a body of persons which body of persons is empowered by law to give such a judgment
 The expression Every Judge used in the third category of Section 21 indicates all Judges and all Judges of all Courts
It is a general term and general term in the Act should not be narrowly construed
It must receive comprehen sive meaning unless there is positive indication to the contrary
There is no such indication to the contrary in the Act
A Judge of the superior Court cannot therefore be excluded from the definition of public servant
He squarely falls within the purview of the Act provided the second requirement under clause c of Section 61 is satisfied The second requirement for attracting the provisions of clause c of Section 61 to a Judge of the superior Judi ciary is that for the purpose of granting sanction for his prosecution there must be an authority and the authority must be competent to remove the Judge
It is now necessary to identify such authority in relation to the higher judici ary
In our country the Judges of higher Judiciary are safe and secure
They are high dignitaries and constitutional functionaries
They are appointed by the President in the exercise of his executive power but they are independent of the Executive
They hold office till they attain the age of superannuation
The High Court Judge retires at 62 while the Supreme Court Judge retires at 65
They are liable to be removed for proved misbehaviour or incapacity
The Executive is competent to appoint the Judges but not empowered to remove them
The power to remove them is vested in Parlia ment by the process analogous to impeachment
The power is located under Article 124 of the Constitution
Article 124 provides so far as material as follows 124
Establishment and constitution of Su preme Court XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX 4 A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members of that House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity
243 5 Parliament may by law regulate the proce dure for the presentation of an address and for the investigation and proof of the misbe haviour or incapacity of a Judge under clause 4
Article 2 18 provides that the provisions of clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 shall apply in relation to a High Court as they apply in relation to the Supreme Court
In exercise of the power vested under clause 5 of Article 124 the Parliament has passed the prescribing the procedure for presentation of an address and for the investigation and proof of misbehaviour or incapacity of a Judge
It will be useful to refer to the relevant provisions of the 
Section 31 provides for giving notice of a motion for presenting an address to the President praying for the removal of a Judge a in the case of a notice of motion given in the House of the People it should be signed by not less than one hundred members of that House b in the case of a notice given in the Council of States it should be signed by not less than fifty mem bers of that Council
The notice of motion should be given to the Speaker or as the case may be to the Chairman who may after consulting such persons as he thinks fit and after considering such materials if any as may be avail able to him either admit the motion or refuse to admit the same
Section 32 states that if the motion referred to in sub section 1 is admitted the Speaker or as the case may be the Chairman shall constitute a Committee for making an investigation into the grounds on which the removal of a Judge is prayed for
There shall be three members of the Committee of whom one shall be chosen from among the Chief Justice and other Judges of the Supreme Court one shall be chosen from among the Chief Justices of the High Courts and one shall be a person who is in the opinion of the Speaker or as the case may be the Chairman a distinguished ju rist
The section further provides that the Committee shall frame definite charges against the Judge on the basis of which the investigation is proposed to be held and the Judge shall be given a reasonable opportunity of presenting a written statement of defence
There are Rules called the Judges Inquiry Rules 1969 formed under the Judges En quiry Act prescribing procedure for holding an inquiry against the Judge
Section 41 of the states that at the conclusion of the investigation the Committee shall submit its report to the Speaker or as the case may be to the Chairman stating therein its findings on each of the charges separately with such observations on the whole case as he thinks fit
The Speaker or the 244 Chairman as the case may be shall cause that report to be laid before the House of People and the Council of States
Section 6 provides that if the report of Committee contains a finding that the Judge is not guilty of any misbehaviour or does not suffer from any incapacity then no further step be taken in either House of Parliament Section 62 states that if the report of the Committee contains a finding that the Judge is guilty of any misbeha viour or suffers from any incapacity then each House of Parliament shall take further steps
The motion to present an address to the President together with the report of the Committee shall be taken up for consideration by the House in which it is pending
That address praying for removal of the Judge must be adopted by each House of Parliament in accordance with the provisions of clause 4 of Article 124
Clause 4 of Article 124 provides that the address must be passed by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority ofi not less than two thirds of the members of that House present and voting
Thereafter it shall be presented to the President for removal of the Judge
Incidentally it may be mentioned that the same procedure has been made applicable for removal of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India
See clause 1 of Article 148 and for removal of the Chief Election Commissioner
See clause 5 of Article 324 of the Constitution
Counsel for the appellant while referring to the afore mentioned provisions of the Constitution pointed out that the power to remove a Judge is not vested in any single individual or authority
No single person or authority is competent to take even cognizance of any allegation of misconduct of a Judge or to take legal action for his removal
The power to remove a Judge is vested in the two Houses of Parliament and the President
The process and power are both integrated in Parliament and Parliament alone is competent to remove a Judge
But Parliament coun sel contended cannot be the sanctioning authority for the prosecution of a Judge
The grant of sancricrequires consid eration of material collected by the investigation agency and Parliament cannot properly consider the material
Par liament is wholly unsuitable to that work
It would be reasonable to presume that the Legislature while enacting clause c of Section 61 of the Act could not have intend ed Parliament to be the sanctioning authority
The other authority cannot be involved to grant sanction for prosecu tion of a Judge since it would be inconsistent with the provisions of the Act and the Constitutional requirements
Counsel asserted that it is necessary to exclude the Judges of the Supreme Court and of 245 the High Courts from the operation of the Act
Mr Tulsi learned Additional Solicitor General on the other hand emphasised on the role of the President in relation to removal of a Judge
He pointed out that the order of the President for removal of a Judge is imperative under clause 4 of Article 124 of the Constitution and the President could be the proper authority under clause c of Section 61 of the Act
Such then put quite shortly were the contentions addressed to us on the authority competent to grant sanction for prosecution of Judges of the superior judiciary
We agree with counsel for the appellant that Parliament could not have been intended to be the sanctioning authority under clause c of Section 61
The composition of Parlia ment consisting of the President and two Houses Article 79 makes it unsuitable to the task
The nature of transacting business or proceeding in each House renders it impractica ble
The individual Member of the House takes part in a proceeding usually by speech and voting but the conduct of Judge in the discharge of his duties cannot be discussed
Article 121 provides that no discussion shall take place in Parliament with respect to the conduct of any Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High  Court in the discharge of his duties except upon a motion for presenting an address to the President praying for the removal of the Judge as hereinaf ter provided
 The only exception made in the Constitution for discussion on the conduct of a Judge is when the motion is taken up for his removal
On no other occasion the con duct of a Judge in the discharge of duties could be the subject matter of discussion in the two Houses of Parlia ment
Without discussion it would be difficult for Parlia ment to make an objective judgment with regard to grant of sanction for prosecution
Parliament cannot therefore be the proper authority for granting sanction for the prosecution of a Judge
That does not however follow that the Judges of superi or Courts are entitled to be excluded from the scope of the Act as contended for the appellant
That would be defeating the object of the Act
The Act was intended to cover all categories of public servants
The apparent policy of the legislation is to insure a clean public administration by weeding out corrupt officials
The Preamble of the Act indicates that the Act was intended to prevent more effec tively the bribery and corruption by public servants
This Court has an occasion to examine the broad outlines of the Act
J in SA Venkataraman vs The 246 State  while analysing the provisions of the Act observed at 1048 that the provisions of the Act indicate that it was intention of the legislature to treat more severely than hitherto corruption on the part of a public servant and not to condone it in any manner whatsoev er
 Reference may also be made to the observations of Subba Rao
J as he then was in M Narayanan vs State of Kerala  The learned Judge said that the Act is a socially useful measure conceived in the public inter est and it should be liberally constured
To quote his own words at 729 The Preamble indicates that the Act was passed as it was expedient to make more effec tive provisions for the prevention of bribery and corruption
The long title as well as the preamble indicate that the Act was passed to put down the said social evil ie bribery and corruption by public Servant
Bribery is a form of corruption
The fact that in addition to the word bribery  the word corruption  is used shows that the legislation was intended to combat also other evils in additon to bribery
The existing law
ie Penal Code was found insufficient to eradicate or even to control the growing evil of bribery and cor ruption corroding the public service of our country
The provisions broadly include the existing offences under sections 161 and 165 of the Indian Penal Code committed by public servants and enact a new rule of presumptive evidence against the accused
The Act also creates a new offence of criminal misconduct by public servants though to some extent it overlaps on the pre existing offences and enacts a rebuttable presumption contrary to the well known principles of Criminal Juris prudence
It also aims to protect honest public servants from harassment by prescribing that the investigation against them could be made only by police officials of particular status and by making the sanction of the Government or other appropriate officer a pre condition for their prosecution
As it is a socially useful measure conceived in public interest it should be liberally construed so as to bring about the desired object ie to prevent corruption among public servants and to prevent harassment of the honest among them In Craies on Statute Law
6th ed
p 531 it is stated that the distinction between a strict and a liberal construction has almost disappeared with regard to all classes of statutes so that all statutes 247 whether penal or not are now construed by substantially the same rules  
They are construed now with reference to the true meaning and real intention of the Legislature
 The construction which would promote the general legislative purpose underlying the provision in question is to be preferred to a construction which would not
If the literal meaning of the legislative language used would lead to results which would defeat the purpose of the Act the Court would be justified in disregarding the literal meaning and adopt a liberal construction which effectuates the object of the legislature
Section 6 with which we are concerned indeed requires to be liberally construed
It is not a penal provision but a measure of protection to public serv ants in the penal enactment
It indicates the authorities without whose sanction a public servant cannot be prosecut ed
It is sufficient that the authorities prescribed there under fall within the fair sense of the language of the Section
The expression the authority competent to remove used in clause c of Section 61 is to be construed to mean also an authority without whose order or affirmation the public servant cannot be removed
In this view the President can be considered as the authority to grant sanc tion for prosecution of a Judge since the order of the President for the removal of a Judge is mandatory The motion passed by each House of Parliament with the special procedure prescribed under clause 4 of Article 124 will not proprio vigore operate against the judge
It will not have the consequence of removing the Judge from the office unless it is followed by an order of the President
The importance of an order of the President for removal of a Judge could be seen by contrasting the provisions of clause 4 of Article 124 with the provisions for removal of the President VicePresident and Speaker
Article 61 pro vides procedure for removal of the President of India
Clause 4 of Article 61 reads as follows 614 If as a result of the investigation a resolution is passed by a majority of not less than two thirds of the total membership of the House by which the charge was investigated or caused to be investigated declaring that the charge preferred against the President has been sustained such resolution shall have the effect of removing the President from his office as from the date on which the resolu tion is so passed
 Similar is the consequence of passing the resolution for removal of the Vice President under Article 67 and the Speaker under Article 248 94 of the Constitution
Article 67b of the Constitution provides that the Vice President may be removed from his office by a resolution of the Council of States passed by a majority of all the then members of the Council and agreed to by the House of People
Article 94c provides that the Speaker may be removed from his office by a resolution of the House of the People passed by a majority of all the then members of the House
The resolution passed in accordance with the procedure prescribed under the respective provi sions for removing the President Vice President and the Speaker will ipso facto operate against those authorities
No further order from any other authority for their removal is necessary
But that is not the position in the case of removal of a Judge
Clause 4 of Article 124 mandates that a Judge shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament   The clause 4 is in the negative terms
The order of the President is sine qua non for removal of a Judge
The President alone could make that order
It is said that Section 6 envisages that the authority competent to remove a public servant from the office should be vertically superior in the hierarchy in which the office exists
Section 6 applies only in cases where there is a vertical hierarchy of public offices and the public servants against whom sanction is sought from the sanctioning author ity
Where the office held by the public servant is not a part of vertical hierarchy in which there is an authority above the public servant then Section 6 can have no appli cation
We have been referred to the observations of Desai J in RS Nayak vs AR Antulay at 206 That competent authority alone would know the nature and function discharged by the public servant holding the office and whether the same has been abused or misused
It is the vertical hierarchy between the authority compete to remove the public servant from that office and the nature of the office held by the public servant against whom sanction is sought which would indicate a hierarchy and which would therefore permit inference of knowledge about the functions and duties of the office and its misuse or abuse by the public servant
That is why the Legislature clearly provided that that authority alone would be competent to grant sanction which is entitled to remove the public servant against whom sanction is sought from the office
 249 With the utmost respect we are unable to agree with the above observations
It seems to us that these observations were not intended to lay down the law that the authority competent to grant sanction for prosecution of public serv ant should be vertically superior in the hierarchy in which the office of the public servant exists
That was not the issue in that case
The observations therefore are not meant to be and ought not to be regarded as laying down the law
It has been said almost too frequently to require repetition that judgments are not to be read as statutes
In our opinion it is not necessary that the authority compe tent to give sanction for prosecution or the authority competent to remove the public servant should be vertically superior in the hierarchy in which the office of the public servant exists
There is no such requirement under Section 6
The power to give sanction for prosecution can be con ferred on any authority
Such authority may be of the de partment in which the public servant is working or an out side authority
All that is required is that the authority must be in a position to appreciate the material collected against the public servant to judge whether the prosecution contemplated is frivolous or speculative Under our enact ment the power has been conferred on the authority competent to remove the public servant
Under the British Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 the power to give consent for prose cution for an offence under that Act has been conferred upon the Attorney General or Solicitor General
The President is not an outsider so far judiciary is concerned
The President appoints the Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court in exercise of his executive powers
Clause 1 of Article 217 provides that every Judge of the High Court shall be appointed by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India the Governor of the State and in the case of appointment of a Judge Other than the Chief Justice the Chief Justice of the High Court
Similarly the President appoints the Judges of the Supreme Court
Clause 2 of Article 124 provides that every Judge of the Supreme Court shah be appointed by the Presi dent in consultation with such of the Judges of the supreme Court and of the High Courts as the President may deem necessary for the purpose and in case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice the Chief Justice ofIndia shall always be consulted
The President exercises this power with the aid and advice of his Council of Minis ters under Article 74 of the Constitution
Shamsher Singh vs State of Punjab  14 and SP Gupta vs Union of India 1982 2 SCR 365
Parliament has no part to play in the matter of appointment of Judges except that the Executive is responsible to the Parliament
250 In the event of President regarded as the authority competent to give prior sanction for the prosecution of a Judge counsel for the appellant contended that the Presi dent cannot act independently
The President exercises his powers by and with the advice of his Council of Ministers
The Executive may misuse the power by interfering with the judiciary
The Court shall avoid interpretation which is likely to impair the independence of the judiciary
Counsel urged that a separate Parliamentary law to deal with the criminal misconduct of Judges of superior courts consistent with the constitutional scheme for their removal could be enacted and such a legislation alone would ensure judicial independence and not the present enactment
A suggestion was also made that since misbehaviour  under clause 4 of Article 124 of the Constitution and criminal misconduct  under Section 51of the Act being synonymous the constitu tional process for removal of the Judge must be gone through first and only after his removal the prosecution if need be recommended in the same process
Otherwise it is said that it would lead to anomaly since there is no power either in the Constitution or under any other enactment to suspend the Judge or refuse to assign work to the Judge pending his trial or conviction in the Criminal Court and the Judge can insist on his right to continue till his removal even after his conviction and sentence
It is inappropriate to state that conviction and sen tence are no bar for the Judge to sit in the Court
We may make it clear that if a Judge is convicted for the offence of criminal misconduct or any other offence involving moral turpitude it is but proper for him to keep himself away from the Court
He must voluntarily withdraw from judicial work and await the outcome of the criminal prosecution
If he is sentenced in a criminal case he should forthwith tender his resignation unless he obtains stay of his convic tion and sentence
He shall not insist on his right to sit on the Bench till he is cleared from the charge by a Court of competent jurisdiction
The judiciary has no power of the purse or the sword
It survives only by public confidence and it iS important to the stability of the society that the confidence of the public is not shaken
The Judge whose character is clouded and whose standards of morality and rectitude are in doubt may not have the judicial inde pendence and may not command confidence of the public
He must voluntarily withdraw from the judicial work and admin istration
The emphasis on this point should not appear superflu ous Prof Jackson says Misbehaviour by a Judge whether it takes place on the bench or off the bench undermines public confidence in the administration of justice and also dam ages public respect for the law of the 251 land if nothing is seen to be done about it the damage goes unrepaired
This must be so when the judge commits a serious criminal offence and remains in office
Jackson s Machinery of Justice by JR Spencer 8th ed
pp 369 370 The proved misbehaviour which is the basis for removal of a Judge under clause 4 of Article 124 of the Constitu tion may also in certain cases involve an offence of crimi nal misconduct under section S1 of the Act
But that is no ground for withholding criminal prosecution till the Judge is removed by Parliament as suggested by counsel for the appellant
One is the power of Parliament and the other is the jurisdiction of a Criminal Court
Both are mutually exclusive
Even a Government servant who is answerable for his misconduct which may also constitute an offence under the IPC or under Section 5 of the Act is liable to be prose cuted in addition to a departmental enquiry
If prosecuted in a criminal court he may be punished by way of imprison ment or fine or with both but in departmental enquiry the highest penalty that could be imposed on him is dismissal
The competent authority may either allow the prosecution to go on in a Court of law or subject him to a departmental enquiry or subject him to both concurrently or consecutive ly
It is not objectionable to initiate criminal proceedings against public servant before exhausting the disciplinary proceedings and a fortiori the prosecution of a JUdge for criminal misconduct before his removal by Parliament for proved misbehaviour is unobjectionable
There are various protections afforded to Judges to preserve the independence of the judiciary
They have pro tection from civil liability for any act done or ordered to be done by them in discharge of their judicial duty whether or not such judicial duty is performed within the limits of their jurisdiction
That has been provided under Section 1 of the 
Likewise Section 77 IPC gives them protection from criminal liability for an act performed judicially
Section 77 states that nothing is an offence which is done by a Judge when acting judicially in the exercise of any power which is or which in good faith he believes to be given to him by law
A discussion on the conduct of Judges of the High Courts and the SUpreme Court in the discharge of their duties shall not take place in the State Legislatures or in Parliament Articles 12 1 and 211
The High Courts and the Supreme Court have been constituted as Courts of record with the power to punish anybody for committing contempt
Articles 129 and 215
The Act 7 0 71 provides power to the Court to take civil and criminal contempt proceedings
252 But we know of no law providing protection for Judges from Criminal prosecution
Article 3612 confers immunity from criminal prosecution only to the President and Governors of States and to no others
Even that immunity has been limited during their term of office
The Judges are liable to be dealt with just the same way as any other person in respect of criminal offence
It is only in taking of bribes or with regard to the offence of corruption the sanction for crimi nal prosecution is required
The position in other countries seems to be not differ ent
In the book Judicial Independence The Contemporary Debate by section Shetreet and J Deschenes 1985 ed there is an article titled as Who watches the Watchman by Mauro Cappelletti
The author has surveyed the penal liability of judges in the legal systems of some of the countries
The author states
In a number of national systems one can also find the provision of criminal sanctions for certain acts or omissions that are typical only of the administration of Justice such as deni de justice or wilful abuse of the judicial office
Even crimes which are of more general application such as the taking of bribes might well be sanctioned differently but possibly more severely when they refer to judicial officers
In other countries howev er such as Poland Greece and Italy a different approach prevails
There is no criminal sanction which is specifical ly applicable only to judicial behaviour rather the judges are included in those criminal provisions which apply gener ally to public servants such as provisions concerning corruption omission or refusal to perform activities of office vexation etc
 If we take the early English law it will be seen that the corruption on the part of a Judge was the most reprehen sible crime and punishable as high treason
Even Lord Becon the most gifted mind of the English Renaissance acclaimed philosopher and the best legal brain was not spared from the punishment for accepting bribes
He was fined forty thousand pounds a monumental sum and imprisoned in the Tower during the King s pleasure He was also barred forever from hold ing any office in the State or Commonwealth or from sit ting in Parliament or from coming within the verge of the Court King James however liberated him from prison remitted his fine and pardon him fully The Corrupt Judge by Joseph Borkin 1962 ed
p 3 4
 17
There is however apprehension that the Executive being the largest litigant is likely to misuse the power to prose cute the Judges
253 That apprehension in our over litigious society seems to be not unjustified or unfounded
The Act no doubt provides certain safeguards
Section 6 providing for prior sanction from the competent authority and directing that no court shall take cognizance of the offence under Section 51 without such prior sanction is indeed a protection for Judges from frivolous and malicious prosecution
It is a settled law that the authority entitled to grant sanction must apply its mind to the facts of the case and all the evidence collected before forming an opinion whether to grant sanction or not
Secondly the trial is by the Court which is independent of the Executive
But these safeguards may not be adequate
Any complaint against a Judge and its investigation by the CBI if given publicity will have a far reaching impact on the Judge and the litigant public
The need therefore is a dicious use of taking action under the Act
Care should be taken that nonest and fearless judges are not harassed
They should be protected
In the instant case the then Chief Justice of India was requested to give his opinion whether the appellant could be proceeded under the Act
It was only after the Chief Justice expressed his views that the appellant could be proceeded under the provi sions of the Act the case was registered against him
Mr Tulsi learned Additional Solicitor General submitted that he has no objection for this Court for issuing a direction against the Government of India to follow that procedure in every case
But Counsel for the appellant has reservations
He maintained that it would be for the State to come forward with u separate enactment for the Judges consistent with the Constitutional provisions for safeguarding the independence of the judiciary and not for this Court to improve upon the defective law
In our opinion there is no need for a sepa rate legislation for the Judges
The Act is not basically defective in its application to judiciary
All that is required is to lay down certain guidelines lest the Act may be misused
This Court being the ultimate guardian of rights of people and independence of the judiciary will not deny itself the opportunity to lay down such guidelines
We must never forget that this Court is not a Court of limited jurisdiction of only dispute settling
Almost from the beginning this Court has been a law maker albeit in Holmes s expression interstitial law maker 
Indeed the court s role today is much more
It is expanding beyond dispute settling and interstitial law making
It is a prob lem solver in the nebulous areas
In this case we consider it no were opportunity it is a duty
It is our responsibil ity and duty to apply the existing law in a form more condu cive to the independence of the Judiciary
The Chief Justice of India is a participatory functionary in the 254 matter of appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts
Articles 1242 and 2 171 Even for trans fer of a Judge from one High Court to another the Chief Justice should be consulted by the President of India Article 222
If any questionarises as to the age of a Judge of a High Courtthe question shall be decided by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India Article 2173
Secondly the Chief Justice being the head of the judiciary is primarily concerned with the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary
Hence it is necessary that the Chief Justice of India is not kept out of the picture of any criminal case contemplated against a Judge
He would be in a better position to give his opinion in the case and consultation with the Chief Justice of India would be of immense assistance to the Government in coming to the right conclusion
We therefore direct that no criminal case shall be registered under Section 154 Cr P C against Judge of the High Court Chief Justice of High Court or Judge of the Supreme Court unless the Chief Justice of India is consulted in the matter
Due regard must be given by the Government to the opinion expressed by the Chief Justice
If the Chief Justice is of opinion that it is not a fit case for proceeding under the Act the case shall not be regis tered
If the Chief Justice of India himself is the person against whom the allegations of criminal misconduct are received the Government shall consult any other Judge or Judges of the Supreme Court
There shall be similar consul tation at the stage of examining the question of granting sanction for prosecution and it shall be necessary and appropriate that the question of sanction be guided by and in accordance with the advice of the Chief Justice of India
Accordingly the directions shall go to the Government
These directions in our opinion would allay the apprehension of all concerned that the Act is likely to be misused by the Executive for collateral purpose
For the reasons which we have endeavoured to outline and subject to the directions issued we hold that for the purpose of clause c of Section 61 of the Act the Presi dent of India is the authority competent to give previous sanction for the prosecution of a Judge of the Supreme Court and of the High Court
It remains only to deal with one short point in this part of the discussion
The High Court has expressed the view that no sanction for prosecution of the appellant under Section 6 was necessary since he has retired from the serv ice on attaining the age of superannuation and was not a public servant on the date of filing the chargesheet
The view taken by the High Court appears to be unassailable
The scope of Section 6 was first considered by this Court in SA Venkatararnan s 255 case where it was observed at 1048 that Section 6 of the Act must be considered with reference to the words used in the section independent of any construction which may have been placed by the decisions on the words used in Section 197 of the Cr
The Court after analysing the terms of Section further observed at 1049 that there is nothing in the words used in Section 61 to even remotely suggest that previous sanction was necessary before a court could take cognizance of the offences mentioned therein in the case of a person who had ceased to be a public servant at the time the court was asked to take_ cognizance although he had been such a person at the time the offence was committed
 This view has been followed in CR Bansi vs State of Maha rashtra  and also in KS Dharmadatan vs Central Government  Ors  and finally reiterated in a Constitution Bench decision in RS Nayak  Ors
AR Antulay The question is therefore no longer res integra
This brings us to the end of the second question and takes us on to the first question
Among the substantive points raised for the
appellant the first question relates to the nature of the offence created under clause e of Section 51
The second allied question is as to the invalidity of the charge sheet filed in the instant case in as such as it failed to incorporate the essential ingredient of the offence
It was urged that the public servant is entitled to an opportunity to explain the disproportionality between the assets and the known sources of income
This opportunity should be given to the public servant by the Investigating Officer and the charge sheet must contain a statement to that effect that is to the unsatisfactory way of accounting by the public servant
Unless the charge sheet contains such an averment counsel contended that under law an offence under clause e of Section 51 of the Act is not made out
For a proper consideration of the contentions we may have the pre natal history of clause e of Section 51
Section 51 of the Act as originally stood provides in the four clauses a b c and d the acts or the omissions of which public servant is said to have committed an offence of criminal misconduct in the discharge of his duties
All these provisions are still there except the term in the discharge of his duties 
There then followed Section 53 which was in these terms  In any trial of an offence pun ishable under sub section 2 the fact that the accused person or any other person on his behalf is in possession for which the accused person cannot satisfactorily account of pecuniary resources or property 256 disproportionate to his known sources of income may be proved and on such proof the court shall presume unless the contrary is proved that the accused person is guilty of criminal misconduct in the discharge of his official duty and his conviction therefor shall not be invalid by reason only that it is based solely on such presumption  This Section 53 does not create a new offence but only provides an additional mode of proving an offence punishable under Section 52 for which any accused person was being tried
It enables the Court to raise a presumption of guilt of the accused in certain circumstances
This additional mode is by proving the extent of the pecuniary resources or property in the possession of the accused or any other person on his behalf and thereafter showing that this is disproportionate to his known sources of income
If these facts are proved the section makes it obligatory for the Court to presume that the accused person is guilty of crimi nal misconduct in the discharge of his official duty unless the contrary is proved by the accused that he is not so guilty
The Section 53 further provides that the convic tion for an offence of criminal misconduct shall not be invalid by reason that it is based solely on such presump tion
See i CSD Swamy vs The State   ii Surajpal Singh vs The State of UP 961 2 SCR 97 1 and iii Sajjan Singh vs The State of Punjab  In 1962 as earlier explained Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption  was constituted to review among other things the law relating to corruption to ensure speedy trial of cases of bribery and criminal misconduct and to make the law otherwise more effective
The Committee in its report has inter alia recommended the inclusion of clause e of Section 51 as a substantive offence in the Act
The Government accepted that recommendation and to give effect to that recommendation enacted clause e of Section 51 replacing Section 53 of the Act
The Statement of Objects and Reasons accompanying the Bill leading to the enactment of The AntiCorruption Laws Amendment Act 1964 Act No 40 of 1964 by which clause e of Section 51 was introduced into the Act reads The Committee has recommended a number of important amendments to the Preven tion of Corruption Act 1947
It has suggested that the presumption enunciated in sub section 1 and 2 of Section 4 of the Act should be made available also in respect of offences under 257 Section 5 and possession of disproportionate assets should be made a substantive offence Emphasis supplied For immediate reference clause e of Section 51 is reproduced hereunder  51e if he or any person on his behalf is in possession or has at any time during the period of his office been in possession for which the public servant cannot satisfactorily account of pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to his known sources of income
The terms of clause e indicates that the principle underlying section 53 appears to have been elevated to a substantive offence in somewhat different words
We will presently analyse the ingredients of the offence under clause e but before that two decisions of this Court on the scope of clause e may be referred
In Maharashtra vs KKS Ramaswamy   Shinghal J said at 276 that the result of the enactment of clause e is that mere possession of pecuniary resources or property dispro portionate to the known sources of income of a public serv ant for which he could not satisfactorily account became an offence by itself although Section 53 which existed prior to Section 51e did not constitute an offence
In State of Maharashtra vs Wasudeo Ramachandra Kaidal war   Sen J spelled out succintly the insight of clause e of Section 51 at pp
682 to 684 The terms and expressions appearing in section 51e of the Act are the same as those used in the old section 53
Although the two provisions operate in two different fields the meaning to be assigned to them must be the same
The expression known sources of income means sources known to the prosecution
So also the same meaning must be given to the words for which the public servant is unable to satisfactorily account occurring in section 51e
No doubt section 41 provides for pre sumption of guilt in cases falling under sections 51a and b but there was in our opin ion no need to mention section 51a therein
For the reason is obvious
The provision contained in section 51e of the Act is a self contained provision
The first part of the Section casts a burden on the prosecution and the second 258 on the accused
When section 51e uses the words for which the public servant is unable to satisfactorily account it is implied that the burden is on such public servant to ac count for the sources for the acquisition of disproportionate assets
The High Court therefore was in error in holding that a public servant charged for having dispropor tionate assets in the possession for which he cannot satisfactorily account cannot be convicted of an offence under section 52 read with section 51e of the Act unless the prosecu tion disproves all possible sources of income
 On the burden of proof under Section 51e of the Act learned Judge said The expression burden of proof has two distinct meanings 1 the legal burden ie the burden of establishing the guilt and 2 the evidentia1 burden ie the burden of leading evidence
In a criminal trial the burden of proving everything essential to establish the charge against the accused lies upon the prosecution and that burden never shifts
Notwithstanding the general rule that the burden of proof lies exclusively upon the prosecution in the case of certain c fences the burden of proving a particular fact in issue may be laid by law upon the accused
The burden resting on the accused in such cases is however not so onerous as that which lies on the prosecution and is dis charged by proof of a balance of probabili ties
 As to the ingredients of the offence learned Judge contin ued The ingredients of the offence of criminal misconduct under section 52 read with section 51e are the possession of pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to the known sources of income for which the public servant cannot satisfactorily account
To substantiate the charge the prosecution must prove the follow ing facts before it can bring a case under section 51e namely 1it must establish that the accused is a public servant 2 the nature and extend of the pecuniary resources or property which were found in his possession 3 it must be proved as to what were his known sources of income ie known to the prosecution and 4 it must prove quite objectively that such resources or property found in possession of the accused 259 were disproportionate to his known sources of income
Once these four ingredients are estab lished the offence of criminal misconduct under section 51e is complete unless the accused is able to account for such resources or proper The burden then shifts to the accused to satisfaction
account for his possession of disproportionate assets
The extent and nature of burden of proof resting upon the public servant to be found in posses sion of disproportionate assets under section 51c cannot be higher than the test laid by the Court in Jahgan s case supra ie to establish his case by a preponderance of probability
That test was laid down by the Court following the dictum of Viscount Sankey LC in Woolmington vs Director of Public prosecutions
 The soundness of the reasoning in Wasudeo Ramachandra Kaidalwar case supra has been doubted
Counsel for the appellant urged that the view taken on Section 53 cannot be imported to clause e of Section 51 and the decision therefore requires reconsideration
But we do not think that the decision requires reconsideration
It is signifi cant to note that there is useful parallel found in Section 53 and clause e of Section 51
Clause e creates a statutory offence which must be proved by the prosecution
It is for the prosecution to prove that the accused or any person on his behalf has been in possession of pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to his known sources of income
When that onus is discharged by the prosecution it is for the accused to account satisfactorily for the disproportionality of the properties possessed by him
The Section makes available statutory defence which must be proved by the accused
It is a restricted defence that is accorded to the accused to account for the disproportionali ty of the assets over the income
But the legal burden of proof placed on the accused is not so onerous as that of the prosecution
However it is just not throwing some doubt on the prosecution version
The Legislature has advisedly used the expression satisfactorily account
The emphasis must be on the word satisfactorily
That means the accused has to satisfy the court that his explanation is worthy of acceptance
The burden of proof placed on the accused is an evidential burden though not a pursuasive burden
The ac cused however could discharge that burden of proof on the balance of probabilities either from the evidence of the prosecution andor evidence from the defence
This procedure may be contrary to the well known principle of 260 criminal jurisprudence laid down in Woolmington vs Director of Public Prosecution  that the burden of proof is always on the prosecution and never shifts to the accused person
But Parliament is competent to place the burden on certain aspects on the accused as well and partic ularly in matters specially within his knowledge
Section 106 of the Evidence Act
Adroitly as observed in Swamy case at 469 and reiterated in Wasudeo case at 683 the prosecution cannot in the very nature of things be expect ed to know the affairs of a public servant found in posses sion of resources of property disproportionate to his known sources of income
It is for him to explain
Such a statute placing burden on the accused cannot be regarded as unrea sonable unjust or unfair
Nor it can be regarded as con trary to Article 21 of the Constitution as contended for the appellant
It may be noted that the principle re affirmed in Woolmington case is not a universal rule to be followed in every case
The principle is applied in the absence of statutory provision to the contrary
See the observations of Lord Templeman and Lord Griffiths in Rig
vs Hunt at 1118 and 1129
Counsel for the appellant however submitted that there is no law prohibiting a public servant having in his posses sion assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and such possession becomes an offence of criminal miscon duct only when the accused is unable to account for it
Counsel seems to be focussing too much only on one part of clause e of Section 51
The first part of clause e of Section 51 as seen earlier relates to the proof of assets possessed by the public servant
When the prosecution proves that the public servant possesses assets disproportionate to his known sources of income the offence of criminal miscon duct is attributed to the public servant
However it is open to the public servant to satisfactorily account for such disproportionality of assets
But that is not the same thing to state that there is no offence till the public servant is able to account for the excess of assets
If one possesses assets beyond his legitimate means it goes with out saying that the excess is out of illgotten gain
The assets are not drawn like nitrogen from the air
It has to be acquired for which means are necessary
It is for the public servant to prove the source of income or the means by which he acquired the assets
That is the substance of clause e of Section 51
In the view that we have taken as to the nature of the offence created under clause e it may not be necessary to examine the contention relating to ingredient of the of fence
But since the legality of the charge sheet has been impeached we will deal with that contention 261 also
Counsel laid great emphasis on the expression for which he account satisfactorily account used in clause e of Section 51 of the Act
He argued that that term means that the public servant is entitled to an opportunity before the Investigating Officer to explain the alleged dispropor tionality between assets and the known sources of income
The Investigating Officer is required to consider his expla nation and the charge sheet filed by him must contain such averment
The failure to mention that requirement would vitiate the charge sheet and renders it invalid
This sub mission if we may say so completely overlooks the powers of the Investigating Officer
The Investigating Officer is only required to collect material to find out whether the offence alleged appears to have been committed
In the course of the investigation he may examine the accused
He may seek his clarification and if necessary he may cross check with him about his known sources of income and assets possessed by him
Indeed fair investigation requires as rightly stated by Mr AD Giri learned Solicitor General that the accused should not be kept in darkness
He should be taken into confidence if he is willing to cooperate
But to state that after collection of all material the investi gating Officer must give an opportunity to the accused and call upon idm to account for the excess of the assets over the known sources of income and then decide whether the accounting is satisfactory or not would be elevating the Investigating Officer to the position of an enquiry officer or a judge
The investigating officer is not holding an enquiry against the conduct of the public servant or deter mining the disputed issues regarding the disproportionality between the assets and the income of the accused
He just collects material from all sides and prepares a report which he files in the Court as charge sheet
The charge sheet is nothing but a final report of police officer under Section 1732 of the Cr
The Section 1732 provides that on completion of the investigation the police officer investigating into a cognizable offence shall submit a report
The report must be in the form prescribed by the State Government and stating therein a the names of the parties b the nature of the information c the names of the persons who appear to be acquainted with the circumstances of the case d whether any offence appears to have been committed and if so by whom e whether the accused has been arrested f whether he had been released on his bond and if so whether with or without sureties and g whether he has been
forwarded in custody under Sec 170
As observed by this Court in Satya Narain Musadi and Ors
vs State of Bihar at 157 that the statutory requirement of the report under Section 1732 would be complied 262 with if the various details prescribed therein are included in the report
This report is an intimation to the magis trate that upon investigation into a cognizable offence the investigating officer has been able to procure sufficient evidence for the Court to inquire into the offence and the necessary information is being sent to the Court
In fact the report under Section 1732 purports to be an opinion of the investigating officer that as far as he is concerned he has been able to procure sufficient material for the trial of the accused by the Court
The report is complete if it is accompanied with all the documents and statements of wit nesses as required by Section 1755
Nothing more need be stated in the report of the Investigating Officer
It is also not necessary that all the details of the offence must be stated
The details of the offence are required to be proved to bring home the guilt to the accused at a later stage ie in the course of the trial of the case adducing acceptable evidence
In the instant case the charge sheet contains all the requirements of Section 1732
It states that the investi gation shows that between 1 May 1969 and 24 February 1976 the appellant as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Madras was in possession of the pecuniary resources and property in his own name and in the name of his wife and two sons etc which were disproportionate by Rs64141636 to the known sources of income over the same period and cannot satisfactorily account for such disproportionate pecuniary resources and property
The details of properties and pecu niary resources of the appellant also have been set out in clear terms
No more in our opinion is required to be stated in the charge sheet
It is fully in accordance with the terms of Section 1732 Cr
PC and clause e of Section 51 of the Act
For the foregoing reasons we dismiss the appeal and direct the trial court to proceed with the case expeditious ly
Before parting with the case we may say a word more
This case has given us much concern
We gave our fullest consideration to the questions raised
We have examined and re examined the questions before reaching the conclusion
We consider that the society s demand for honesty in a judge is exacting and absolute
The standards of judicial behaviour both on and off the Bench are normally extremely high
For a Judge to deviate from such standards of honesty and impar tiality is to betray the trust reposed on him
No excuse or no legal relativity can condone such betrayal
From the standpoint of justice the size of the bribe or scope of corruption cannot be the scale for measuring a judge s dishonour
A single dishonest judge not only dis 263 honours himself and disgraces his office but jeopardizes the integrity of the entire judicial system
A judicial scandal has always been regarded as far more deplorable than a scandal involving either the Executive or a member of the Legislature
The slightest hint of irregu larity or impropriety in the Court is a cause for great anxiety and alarm
A legislator or an administrator may be found guilty of corruption without apparently endangering the foundation of the State
But a Judge must keep himself absolutely above suspicion to preserve the impartiality and independence of the judiciary
and to have the public confi dence thereof
SHARMA J I have gone through the learned judgments of Mr Justice Ray Mr Justice Shetty and Mr Justice Verma
I agree with Mr Justice Ray and Mr Justice Shetty that the appeal should be dismissed
In view of the elaborate discus sion of the facts and law in the judgments of my learned brothers I am refraining from dealing with them in detail and am indicating my reasons briefly
The expression public servant used in the Preven tion of Corruption Act 1947 hereinafter referred to as the Act  is undoubtedly wide enough to denote every judge including Judges of the High Court and the Supreme Court
The argument is that in view of the language of the Act considered along with the provisions of the Constitution especially Article 124 Section 5 of the Act must be held to be inapplicable to the High Court and Supreme Court Judges
It has not however been suggested and rightly that the Parliament lacks jurisdiction in passing a law for trial and conviction of High Court and Supreme Court Judges in cases where they are guilty of committing criminal offences
The contention is that in view of the scheme of the Act it should be inferred that the penal provisions of the Act do not apply to them
Great reliance has been placed on Section 6 requiring previous sanction of the authority competent to remove the Judge  from the office as a necessary condition for taking cognizance
It has been urged that in view of this essential requirement it has to be held that the Act does not cover the case of a member of the higher judiciary while in office and consequently it cannot be made applica ble to him even after his retirement
For the purpose of this argument it is presumed that there is no authority competent to remove a High Court Judge from his office within the meaning of Section 6 and the condition precedent for starting a prosecution against him therefore cannot be satisfied
I do not think this basic assumption is correct
264 3
Section 61c of the Act speaks of the authority competent to remove him from his office
The question is as to whether there is some authority competent to remove a High Court Judge from his office or not
An answer in the negative will be inconsistent with Article 124 Clauses 4 and 5 read with Article 2 18 of the Constitution
It is signifi cant to note that Article 1244 speaks of removal from his office and Section 6 of the Act uses similar language
The removal of a Judge does not take place automatically on commission or omission of a particular act or acts or on fulfilment of certain prescribed conditions
It is dependant on certain steps to be taken as mentionedin the Article through human agency
Initially some members 9f the Parlia ment have to move in the matter and finally an order has to be passed by the President
Thus although more than one person are involved in the process it is not permissible to say that no authority exists for the purpose of exercising the power to remove a High Court Judge from his office
As to who is precisely the authority in this regard is a matter which in my view does not arise in the present case but the vital question whether such an authority exists at all must be answered in the affirmative
It has been strenuously contended by Mr Sibal learned counsel for the appellant that the Constitution envisages an independent judiciary and to achieve this goal it is essential that the other limbs of the State including the executive and the lagislature should be denied a posi tion from where the judiciary can be pressurized
The State is an organisation committed to public good it is not an end in itself
Its different branches including the legislature judiciary and the executive are intended to perform different assigned important functions
Judiciary has a duty to dispense justice between person and person as also between person and State itself
To be able to perform its duties effectively the Judges have to act without fear or favour affection or ill will
They must therefore be free from pressure from any quarter
Nobody can deny this basic essence of independence of judiciary
But for the judiciary to be really effective the purity in the administration of justice and the confidence of the people in the courts are equally essential
It is to achieve this end that the higher judiciary has been vested with the power to punish for its own contempt
This has become neces sary so that an aggrieved or misdirected person may not cast aspersions on the court which may adversely affect the public confidence
If the community loses its faith in the courts their very existence will cease to have any meaning
A person with a just cause shall not approach the court for a legal 265 remedy if according to his belief the decision of the court would be given on extreneous consideration and not on the merits of his claim
People will return to the law of the jungle for settling their dispute on the streets
These aspects are common for the entire judiciary whether Higher or Subordinate and to my mind no classification is permis sible separating one category from another
Although the Judges of the higher judiciary perform important functions and are vested with special jurisdic tion at cannot be forgotten that judicial power wherever it is vested is integral and basic for a democratic consti tution
A large number of cases are finally decided at the stage of the subordinate judiciary
The subordinate judici ary therefore also needs the same independence which is essential for the higher judiciary
It is therefore not safe to assume that the Act intended to make in its applica tion any discrimination between the lower and the higher judiciary
Protection to the public servant in general is provided under Article 311 and the interest of the subordi nate judiciary is further taken care of by the High Court and this along with the provisions regarding previous sanc tion shields them from unjustified prosecution
Similarly protection is available to the High Court and Supreme Court Judges through the provisions of Article 1244 and 5 of the Constitution
So far this aspect is concerned the two categories of Judges High Court and Supreme Court Judges on the one hand and the rest on the other have not been treated by the law differently
There cannot be any rational ground on the basis of which a member of a higher judiciary may be allowed to escape prosecution while in identical circum stances a member of the subordinate judiciary is tried and convicted
Such an interpretation of the Act will militate against its constitutional validity and should not there fore be preferred
There is still another reason indicating that the interpretation suggested on behalf of the appellant should not be accepted
If it is held that a member of the higher judiciary is not liable to prosecution for an offence under Section 5 on account of the requirement of previous sanction under Section 6 it will follow that he will be immune from  the prosecution not only under Section 51e as is the present case but also for the other offences under Clauses a to d
So far offences punishable under Sections 161 164 and 165 of the Indian Penal Code are concerned they are also subject to such previous sanction
The result will be serious
It is a well established principle that no person is above the law and even a constitutional amendment as contained in Article 329 A in the case of the Prime Minister was struck 266 down in at 470 C D
It has to be remembered that in a proceeding under Article 124 a Judge can merely be removed from his office
He cannot be convicted and pun ished
Let us take a case where there is a positive finding recorded in such a proceeding that the Judge was habitually accepting bribe and on that ground he is removed from his office
On the argument of Mr Sibal the matter will have to be closed with his removal and he will escape the crimi nal liability and even the ill gotten money would not be confiscated
Let us consider another situation where an abetter is found guilty under Section 165 A of the Indian Penal Code and is convicted
The main culprit the Judge shall escape on the argument of the appellant
In a civi lised society the law cannot be assumed to be leading to such disturbing results
In adopting the other view I do not see any difficul ty created either by the scheme or the language of the Act or by any constitutional provision
The statement in Santha nam Committee s report that the members did not consider judiciary to be included in the terms of the reference is not of much help as admittedly the Act applies to the mem bers of the subordinate judiciary
Nor can the rules relat ing to disclosure by some Govt
servants of their assets and liabilities determine the scope of the law
These rules differ from place to place and are amended from time to time according to the changing exigencies
As has been stated earlier the power to remove a High Court Judge from his office does exist and has to be exercised in appropriate circumstances according to the provisions of Article 124
It is therefore not right to say that previous sanction for his prosecution cannot be made available
Section 2 of the Act adopts the definition of public servant as given in Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code which includes Every Judge
If the legislature had intended to exclude the High Court and Supreme Court Judges from the field of Section 5 of the Act it could have said so in unambiguous terms instead of adopting the wide meaning of the expression public servant as given in the Indian Penal Code
The further question as to the identity of the authority empowered to grant the necessary sanction as mentioned in Section 6 of the Act was hotly debated during the hearing of the case
Mr Justice Shetty has held that since ultimately it is the order of the President which is necessary for the removal of a Judge he must be treated to be the competent authority
Taking into consideration the independence of judiciary as envisaged by the Constitution it has further been observed that the Chief Justice of India will have to be 267 consulted in the matter and steps would have to be taken in accordance with his advice
Mr Justice Ray and Mr Justice Venkatchaliah are in agreement with this view
These obser vations I believe would be not only acceptable but wel come to the Union of India as during the hearing it was at the suggestion of the learned Solicitor General and the Additional Solicitor General that the desirability of the aforesaid direction in the judgment was considered by the Bench
I also fully appreciate that if the executive follows this rule strictly a further protection from harassment of the judges by uncalled for and unjustified criminal prosecu tion shall be available
But in my view such a binding direction cannot be issued by this Court on the basis of the provisions of the Constitution and the Act
Before proceeding further 1 would again state that having answered the question as to whether a Judge of the superior court can be removed by some authority whoever he or they may be in the affirmative it is not necessary to decide the further controversy as mentioned above
I would therefore be content merely by indicating some of the aspects which may be relevant for the issue to be decided later in a case when it directly arises
If the President is held to be the appropriate authority to grant the sanction without reference to the Parliament he will be bound by the advice he receives from the Council of Ministers
This will seriously jeopardise the independence of judiciary which is undoubtedly a basic feature of the Constitution
Realising the serious implica tion it was suggested on behalf of the Union of India that this Court may lay down suitable conditions by way of prior approval of the Chief Justice of India for launching a prosecution
I fully appreciate the concern of all of us including the Union of India for arriving at a satisfactory solution of the different problems which are arising but if we start supplementing the law as it stands now we will be encroaching upon the legislative field
To meet this objec tion it was contended that it is permissible for us to issue the suggested direction because the Chief Justice of India is not a stranger in the matter of appointment of a Judge of the High Court or the Supreme Court rather he is very much in the picture
Reference was made to the provisions of Articles 124 2 and 2 171
The difficulty in accepting this argument is that the Governor of the State and the Chief Justice of the High Court are as much involved in the matter of appointment of a Judge of the High Court as the Chief Justice of India
We cannot therefore simplify the problem by referring to the aforesaid Articles
In my view the approval of Chief Justice of India can be introduced 268 as a condition for prosecution only by the Parliament and not by this Court
The question then is as to what is the protection available under the law as it exists today to the independ ence of the judiciary of the country
The answer is in Section 6 of the Act which by providing for previous sanc tion of the authority empowered to remove the Judge takes us to Article 124 Clauses 4 and 5
Since the Constitu tion itself has considered it adequate in the matter of dealing with serious accusations against the Judges by incorporating the provisions of Clauses 4 and 5 in Article 124 they must be treated to be appropriate and suitable and should be resorted to in the matter of prose cution also in view of the Parliament enacting Section 6 of the Act in the language which attracts the constitutional provisions
It has been argued that in view of the constitution al prohibition against any discussion in Parliament with respect to the conduct of a Judge of the superior court except in connection with his removal under Article 124 it will not be possible to obtain the necessary sanction as mentioned in Section 6 of the Act except by initiating a motion for removal also simultaneously and then it will be a time consuming process
I will assume the contention to be correct but for that reason I do not think that the correct interpretation of the legal position can be discorrected as it does not lead to any illegal consequence untenable position or an absurd result
It is true that the grant of sanction will be delayed until the accusation is examined according to the law enacted under Clause 5 of Article 124 but once that stage is over and a finding is recorded against the Judge there should not be any hitch in combin ing the two matters that is the removal and the grant of sanction which are obviously intertwined
It has to be remembered that the prosecution under Section 51 of the Act refers to collection by the Judge of disproportionately large amount of wealth during the period he has been in office
The two matters the prosecution and removal should not therefore be treated to be separate and unconnected with each other
Otherwise there will be scope left for the Judge concerned to claim that although he may be facing prosecution or may have been even convicted after trial he still continues to be a Judge entitled to exercise his powers as he has not been removed from his office
It was stated during the course of the hearing that actually such a situation has arisen in another country where a Judge al though punished with imprisonment was insisting that he still continued in his office
I do not think that such a thing is permissible in this country
The anomaly involved in such situations 269 can be satisfactorily resolved by combining the two matters and getting clearance from the Parliament
Before closing this chapter I would again repeat that this issue is not arising in the present case and will have to be considered and finally decided only when it directly arises
Since however opinions have been expressed
which I regret I do not find myself in a position to share
I have with great est respect of my learned brothers taken the liberty to state some important considerations which appear to be relevant to me
Mr Sibal next contended that as the appellant was not called upon to account for the property which was found in his possession one of the essential ingredients under Section 51e is not satisfied
There is no merit whatso ever in this point either
The section does not contemplate a notice to be served on the accused
If the prosecuting at hority after making a suitable enquiry by taking into account the relevant documents and questioning relevant persons forms the opinion that the accused cannot satisfac torily account the accumulation of disproportionate wealth in his possession the section is attracted
The records clearly indicate that after duly taking all the appropriate steps it was stated that the assets found in the possession of the appellant in his own name and in the name of his wife and two sons were disproportionate by a sum of over Rs6 lacs to his known sources of income during the relevant period and which he cannot satisfactorily account
Since I do not find any merit in any of the points urged on behalf of the appellant this appeal is dismissed
VERMA J I have perused the opinions of my learned brethren constituting the majority taking the view that the Prevention of Corruption Act applies
I am unable to sub scribe to this view
My dissenting opinion is at best only academic
All the same I deem it fit to record the same with my reasons for taking a different view
It is indeed unfor tunate that this question should at all arise for judicial determination
However the question having arisen we are bound to give our opinion
In view of the significance of the point I record my respectful dissent reassured by the observations of Hughes that unanimity which is merely formal which is recorded at the expense of strong con flicting views is not desirable in a court of last resort whatever may be the effect on public opinion at the time
This is so because what must ultimately sustain the court in public confidence is the character and independence of the judges 
It is better that their independence should be maintained and recognised than that 270 unanimity should be secured through its sacrifice
I would rather be a conscientious lone dissenter than a troubled conformist
It is in this spirit in all humility I record my dissent
Can the Chief Justice of a High Court or any of its puisne Judges be prosecuted for an offence punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 hereinafter referred to as the Act  This is the main question arising for decision in this appeal
The appellant K Veeraswami a former Chief Justice of the Madras High Court filed an application under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Proce dure 1973 Criminal MP No 265 of 1978 to quash the proceedings in CC No 46 of 1977 in the Court of the Special Judge Madras initiated on a charge sheet accusing him of the offence of criminal misconduct under Section 51e punishable under Section 52 of the Act as amended by the Amendment Act of 1964
The matter was heard by a full bench of the High Court which dismissed the application by order dated 274
1979 according to the majority opinion of Natarajan and Mohan JJ
while Balasubrahmanyan J dissent ed
This appeal is by a certificate granted by the High Court under Articles 1321 and 1341c of the Constitu tion of India in view of the important question of law involved for decision
The material facts are only a few
The appellant joined the Bar of Madras in the year 1941 and had a lucrative prac tice
In 1953 he was appointed as Assistant Government Pleader and in 1959 the Government Pleader at Madras
On 2021960 he was elevated to the Bench of the Madras High Court being appointed as a permanent Judge of that Court
On 15
1969 he was appointed the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court from which office he retired on 741976
On 242
1976 the Central Bureau of Investigation at Delhi registered a case against the appellant under the Act and on 2821976 the First Information Report was lodged accusing the appellannt of the offence of criminal misconduct under Section 51e punishable under Section 52 of the Act
A charge sheet dated 15121977 was filed alleging that be tween 15
and 242
1976 while the appellant was a public servant he was in possession of pecuniary resources and property in his own name and in the names of his wife Smt
Eluthai Ammal and his two sons SShri V Suresh and V Bhaskar which were disproportionate to the extent of Rs64141636p
to his known sources of income during that period and that he cannot satisfactorily account for such disproportionate pecuniary resources and property
The charge sheet also gave particulars on the basis of which the disproportion in assets was alleged
271 The appellant filed a petition under Section 482 Cr
PC in the High Court for quashing the prosecution pending in the Court of Special Judge Madras on the above charge sheet with the result indicated above
Several arguments including the allegation of mala fides against the Central Government were advanced in the High Court on behalf of the appellant
It is however unnecessary to refer to all of them since at the hearing of the appeal before us the appellant s case was confined only to the grounds stated hereafter and the ground of mala fides alleged in the High Court was expressly given up at the hearing before us by Shri Kapil Sibal learned counsel for the appellant
Shri Kapil Sibal learned counsel for the appellant advanced two arguments only
His first contention is that the Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court are not within the purview of the Act which is a special enactment applicable to public servants in whose case prosecution can be launched after sanction granted under Section 6 of the Act which is alien to the scheme envisaged for constitu tional functionaries like Judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court
He argued that the special provisions in the Constitution of India relating to the Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court clearly indicate that they are not within the purview of the Act and that after their appointment in the manner prescribed they are wholly immune from executive influence their tenure being fixed by the Constitution except for removal in the manner prescribed by Article 1244
The other argument of Shri Sibal is that one of the essential ingredients of the offence of criminal misconduct defined in Section 51e of the Act which is punishable under Section 52 thereof is the inability of the accused to satisfactorily account for possession of disproportionate assets which must be evident from the documents annexed to the charge sheet to enable the Special Judge to take cognizance of the offence and this can be possible only if the accused is asked to give his account before filing of the charge sheet
On this basis it was argued that the procedure for grant of sanction under Sec tion 6 of the Act which requires the sanctioning authority to see the explanation of the public servant before granting sanction makes it feasible which also shows its inapplica bility to the superior Judges in whose case there is no such service record or machinery provided
In a way the second argument of Shri Sibal also is connected with his first argument
Shri Sibal argued that irrespective of the desirability of enacting a law providing for the prosecution and trial of superior Judges accused of the offence of criminal misconduct the existing law contained in the Act is inapplicable to them
In reply the learned Solicitor General 272 who was followed by the learned Additional Solicitor Gener al strenuously urged that the Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court also fall within the purview of the Act being public servants  which definition is wide enough to include every Judge 
They argued that there is no immunity to the superior Judges as in the case of the President and the Governor under Article 36 1 of the Constitution and therefore there was no reason to exclude to superior Judges from the purview of the Act
The difficulty of sanction under Section 6 for the prosecution of superior Judges and the special provisions contained in clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 read with Article 2 18 it was suggested pre sented no difficulty since the President of India could be treated as the competent authority to grant sanction in accordance
with Section 61c of the Act in the case of the High Court and Supreme Court Judges
The learned Solici tor General and the Additional Solicitor General also urged that adequate safeguards in the form of guidelines be sug gested by this Court to prevent any abuse of executive authority or harassment to independent Judges
It was sug gested that some machinery involving the Chief Justice of India for grant of sanction for prosecution by the President of India even for investigation into the offence could be suggested by this Court for implicit compliance by the executive
It was argued that in this manner preservation of independence of the judiciary could be ensured while treat ing the superior Judges also within the purview of the Act to enable the prosecution and punishment of the corrupt ones
In view of the great significance of the point involved for decision which has arisen for the first time the matter was heard at considerable length to illuminate the grey areas
At the hearing the consensus was that this unfortu nate controversy not envisaged earlier having now arisen may be it is time that a clear provision be made within the constitutional scheme to provide for a machinery to deal with the corrupt members of the superior judiciary which itself is necessary for preservation of the independence of the judiciary
However the difference is with regard to the adequacy of machinery enacted in the existing legislation for this purpose
In other words the difference is about the law as it is and not about what it should be
For the purpose of deciding this case we have to see the law as it now exists
The main point for consideration is whether the Chief Justices and puisne Judges of the High Courts are within the purview of the Act
It is implicit that if the answer is in the affirmative then the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court also would fall within the purview of the Act and so also the Comptroller and Auditor Genera 273 and the Chief Election Commissioner whose terms and condi tions of office are the same as those of a Judge of the Supreme Court of India
If for any reason the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Chief Election Commissioner be considered outside the purview of the Act that would itself indicate exclusion of certain similar constitutional func tionaries from the purview of the Act
The real question therefore is Whether these constitutional functionaries were intended to be included in the definition of public servant  as defined in the Act and the existing enacted law is to that effect
The desirability of enacting such a law applicable to them it was strenuously urged at the hearing would be a matter primarily for the Parliament to consider in case the existing law as enacted does not apply to them
There is no material to indicate that corruption in judiciary was a mischief to be cured when the Prevention of Corruption Act was enacted
For this reason the desirabil ity now expressed of having such a law cannot be an aid to construction of the existing law to widen its ambit and bring these constitutional functionaries within it since such an exercise would be wholly impermissible in the garb of judicial craftmanship which cannot replace legislation in a vergin field
Judicial activism can supply the deficien cies and fill gaps in an already existing structure found deficient in some ways but it must stop sort of building a new edifice where there is none
In a case like the present the only answer can be a definite yes  or definite no  but not yes  with the addition of the legislative require ments in the enactment which are wholly absent and without which the answer cannot be yes 
In my considered view laying down guidelines to be implicitly obeyed if they find no place in the existing enactment and to bring the superior Judges within the purview of the existing law on that basis would amount to enacting a 
new law outside the scope of the existing law and not merely construing it by supplying the deficiencies to make it workable for achieving the object of its enactment
It was suggested at the hearing that the guidelines so suggested and supplied with the aid of which the existing law could be made applicable to supe rior Judges would be akin to the exercise performed by this Court while dealing with the Administrative Tribunals Act in SP Sam path Kumar vs Union of India  Ors  I am afraid this analogy is not apt there being no similarity in the two situations
The Administrative Tribu nals Act as enacted was found to suffer from certain infirm ities which would render it invalid and thereby failing to achieve the object of its enactment unless the deficiencies therein were supplied
It was to overcome this situation that this Court in Sam path Kumar suggested ways and means to overcome those infirmities to achieve the object of enactment of that legislation and thereby make the legisla tion workable as a 274 valid piece of legislation
The situation here is entirely different
The Act is wholly workable in its existing form for the public servants within its purview and there is no impediment in its applicability to the large number of public servants who have been dealt with thereunder ever since its enactment
The only question which now arises is Whether this piece of legislation also applies to certain constitutional functionaries such as the High Court Judges and if the answer is in the negative the life of the enact ment is not jeopardised in any manner
The only result is that in case such a legislation for superior Judges also is considered necessary at this point of time the Parliament can perform its function by enacting suitable legislation it being a virgin field of legislation
It is therefore difficult to appreciate such an argument when the question for our decision is only of construction of the legislation as enacted to determine the field of its operation
Reference may now be made to certain statutory provi sions on the basis of which the point has to be decided
The definition of public servant  given in the Act includes every Judge 
Sub section 1 of Section 5 of the Act defines criminal misconduct  in its several clauses and Sub section 2 thereof prescribes punishment for the of fence of criminal misconduct
Section 5A deals with investi gation into cases under this Act and Section 6 is the provi sion for previous sanction necessary for prosecution
Thus no Court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under Sub section 2 of Section 5 of the Act except with the previous sanction of the competent authority envisaged by clauses a b and c of Sub section 1 of Section 6 of the Act
It is for this reason that Section 6 assumes significance for the applicability of the Act since previous sanction for prosecution is necessary for taking cognizance of an offence under Section 52 of the Act and in situa tions where no such sanction can be envisaged the Act cannot be made applicable
The relevant provisions of the Act as in existence after the 1964 amendment are quoted as under 2
Interpretation
For the purposes of this Act public servant means a public servant as defined in Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code 45 of 1860
XXX XXX XXX 4
Presumption where public servant accepts gratification other than legal remu neration 1 Where in any trial of an of fence punishable under Section 16 1 or Section 165 of the Indian Penal Code 45 of 1860 or of an offence 275 referred to in clause a or clause b of sub section 1 of Section 5 of this Act punishable under sub section 2 thereof it is proved that an accused person has accepted or obtained or as agreed to accept or at tempted to obtain for himself or for any other person any gratification other than legal remuneration or any valuable thing from any person it shall be presumed unless the contrary is proved that he accepted or ob tained or agreed to accept or attempted to obtain that gratification or that valuable thing as the case may be as a motive or reward such as is mentioned in the said Section 161 or as the case may be without consideration or for a consideration which he knows to be inadequate
2 Where in any trial of an offence punishable under Section 165A of the Indian Penal Code 45 of 1860 or under clause ii or sub section 3 of Section 5 of this Act it is proved that any gratification other than legal remuneration or any valuable thing has been given or offered to be given or attempted to be given by an accused person it shall be presumed unless the contrary is proved that he gave or offered to give or attempted to give that gratification or that valuable thing as the case may be as a motive or reward Such as is mentioned in Section 161 of the Indian Penal Code or as the case may be without consideration or for a considera tion which he known to be inadequate
3 Notwithstanding anything contained in subsections 1 and 2 the court may decline to draw the presumption referred to in either of the said sub sections if the gratification or thing aforesaid is in its opinion so trivial that no inference of corruption may fairly be drawn
Criminal misconduct 1 A public servant is said to commit the offence of criminal misconduct a if he habitually accepts or obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain from any person for himself or for any other per son any gratification other than legal remuneration as a motive or reward such as is mentioned in Section 161 of the Indian Penal Code 45 of 1860 or 276 b if he habitually accepts or obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain for himself or for any other person any valuable thing without consideration or for a consider ation which he knows to be  inadequate from any person whom he knows to have been or to be or to be likely to be concerned in any proceeding or business transacted or about to be transacted by him
or having any connection with the official functions of himself or of any public servant to whom he is subordinate or from any person whom he knows to be inter ested in or related to the person so con cerned or c if he dishonestly or fraudulently misap propriates or otherwise converts for his own use any property entrusted to him or under his control as a public servant or allows any other person so to do or d if he by corrupt or illegal means or by otherwise abusing his position as public servant obtains for himself or for any other person any valuable thing or pecuniary advan tage or e if he or any person on his behalf is in possession or has at any time during the period of his office been in possession for which the public servant cannot satisfactorily account of pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to his known sources of income
2 Any public servant who commits criminal misconduct shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine Provided that the court may for any special reasons recorded in writing impose a sentence of imprisonment of less than one year
XXX XXX XXX 5A Investigation into cases under this Act 1 Notwithstanding anything con tained in the Code of Crimi 277 nal Procedure 1898 5 of 1898 no police officer below the rank a in the case of the Delhi Special Police Establishnent of an Inspector of Police b in the presidency towns of Calcutta and Madras of an Assistant Commissioner of Po lice c in the presidency town of Bombay of Superintendent of Police and d elsewhere of a Deputy Superintendent of Police shall investigate any offence punishable under Section 161
Section 165 or Section 165A of the Indian Penal Code 45 of 1860 or under Section 5 of this Act without the order of a Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class as the case may De or make any arrest therefor without a warrant Provided that if a police officer not below the rank of an Inspector of Police is authorised by the State Government in this behalf by general or special order he may also investigate any such offence without the order of a Presidency Magistrate or a Magis trate of the first class as the case may be or make arrest therefor without a warrant Provided further that an offence referred to in clause e of sub section 1 of Section 5 shall not be investigated without the order of a police officer not below the rank of a Superintendent of Police
2 If from information received or otherwise a police officer has reason to suspect the commission of an offence whichhe is empowered to investigate under subsection 1 and considers that for the purpose of investigation or inquiry into such offence it is necessary to inspect any bankers  books then notwithstanding anything conrained in any law for the time being in force he may inspect any bankers  books in so far as they relate to the accounts of the person suspected to have committed that offence or of any other person suspected to be holding money on 278 behalf of such person and take or cause to be taken certified copies of the relevant entries therefrom and the bank concerned shall be bound to assist the police officer in the exercise of his powers under this sub section Provided that no power under this sub section in relation to the accounts of any person shall be exercised by a police officer below the rank of Superintendent of Police unless he is specially authorised in this behalf by a police officer of or above the rank of a Superintendent of Police
Explanation
In this sub section the expressions bank and bankers  books shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Bankers  Books Evidence Act 189 1  18 of 1891
Previous sanction necessary for prosecution 1 No court shall take cogni zance of an offence punishable under Section 161 or Section 164 or Section 165 of the Indian Penal Code 45 of 1860 or under sub section 2 or sub section 3A of Section 5 of this Act alleged to have been committed by a public servant except with the previous sanction a in the case of a person who is employed in connection with the affairs of the Union and is not removable from his office save by or with the sanction of the Central Government of the Central Government b in the case of a person who is employed in connection with the affairs of a State and is not removable from his office save by or with the sanction of the State Government of the State Government c in the case of any other person of the authority competent to remove him from his office
2 Where for any reason whatsoever any doubt arises whether the previous sanction as required under subsection 1 should be given by the Central or State Government or any other authority such sanction shall be given by that Government or authority which would have been com 279 petent to remove the public servant from his office at the time when the offence was alleged to have been committed
 The relevant provisions of the Constitution of India are as under 12 1
Restriction on discussion in Parliament 
No discussion shall take place in Parliament with respect to the conduct of any Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court in the discharge of his duties except upon a motion for presenting an address to the President praying for the removal of the Judge as hereinafter provided
XXX XXX XXX 124
Establishment and constitution of Supreme Court 1  
XXX XXX XXX 4 A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members of that House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity
5 Parliament may by law regulate the procedure for the presentation of an address and for the investigation and proof of the misbehaviour or incapacity of a Judge under clause 4
XXX XXX XXX 148
Comptroller and Auditor General of India1 There shall be a Comptroller and Auditor General of India who shall be appoint ed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal and shall only be removed from office in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court
XXX XXX XXX 280 211
Restriction on discussion in the Legislature
No discussion shall take place in the Legislature of a State with respect to the conduct of any Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court in the dis charge of his duties
XXX XXX XXX 218
Application of certain provi sions relating to Supreme Court to High Courts 
The provisions of clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 shall apply in relation to a High Court as they apply in relation to the Supreme Court with the substitution of refer ence to the High Court for references to the Supreme Court
XXX XXX XXX 324
Superintendence direction and control of elections to be vested in an Elec tion Commission 1 XXX XXX XXX 5 Subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament the conditions of service and tenure of office of the Elec tion Commissions and the Regional Commission ers shall be such as the President may by rule determine Provided that the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court and the conditions of service of the Chief Elec tion Commissioner shall not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment Provided further that any other Election Commissioner or a Regional Commis sioner shall not be removed from office except on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner
XXX XXX XXX 361
Protection of President and Governors and Rajpramukhs 1 The President or the Governor or 281 Rajpramukh of a State shall not be answerable to any court for the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of his office or for any act done or purporting to be done by him in the exercise and performance of those powers and duties Provided that the conduct of the President may be brought under review by any court tribunal or body appointed or designat ed by either House of Parliament for the investigation of a charge under Article 61 Provided further that nothing in this clause shall be construed as restricting the right of any person to bring appropriate proceedings against the Government of India or the Government of a State
2 No criminal proceedings whatso ever shall be instituted or continued against the President or the Government of a State in any court during his term of office
3 No process for the arrest or imprisonment of the President or the Governor of a State shall issue from any court during his term of office
4 No civil proceedings in which relief is claimed against the President or the Governor of a State shall be instituted during his term of office in any court in respect of any act done or purporting to be done by him in his personal capacity whether before or after he entered upon his office as President or as Governor of such State until the expiration of two months next after notice in writing has been delivered to the President or the Governor
as the case may be or left at his office stating the nature of the pro ceedings the cause of action therefore the name description and place of residence of the party by whom such proceedings are to be instituted and the relief which he claims
 It may also be mentioned that the has been enacted by the Parliament to regulate the procedure for the investigation and proof of the misbeha viour or incapacity of a Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court and for the presentation of an 282 address by Parliament to the President and for matters connected therewith as contemplated by Articles 1245 of the Constitution of India
It is in the background of these provisions that the point arising for our determination has to be decided
I may also at this stage refer to the recommendations made by the Santhanam Committee which preceded the 1964 amendment in the Act
It is as a result of the 1964 amend ment that clause e was inserted in Sub section 1 of Section 5 of the Act to make the possession of dispropor tionate assets by a public servant by itself a substantive offence of criminal misconduct while prior to this amend ment such a provision was merely a rule of evidence con tained in Sub section 3 of Section 5 as initially enacted which was then available only to prove the offence of crimi nal misconduct defined in clauses a to d of Sub section 1 of Section 5
In the Report of the Santhanam Committee certain portions relating to the judiciary which may throw light on the question before us are extracted as under SECTION 12 MISCELLANEOUS XXX XXX XXX 122 We did not consider the judici ary to be included in our terms of reference
Except the Supreme Court and some subordinate courts in the Union Territories the Govern ment of India have no direct relation with the administration of the judiciary except that appointment of High Court Judges is made by the President
It has to be borne in mind however that all courts in india are common to the Centre and the States and can entertain and decide cases relating to exclusively Central subjects
Therefore integrity of the judiciary is of paramount importance even for the proper functioning of the Central Govern ment
Though we did not make any direct inquiries we were informed by responsible persons including Vigilance and Special Police Establishment Officers that corruption exists in the lower ranks of the judiciary all over India and in some places it has spread to the higher ranks also
We were deeply distressed at this information
We therefore suggest that the Chief Justice of India in consulta tion with the Chief Justices 283 of the High Courts should arrange for a thor ough inquiry into the incidence of corruption among the judiciary and evolve in consulta tion with the Central and State Governments proper measures to prevent and eliminate it
Perhaps the setting up of vigilance organisa tion under the direct control of the Chief Justice of every High Court coordinated by a Central Vigilance Officer under the Chief Justice of India may prove to be an appropri ate method
XXX XXX XXX SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS XXX XXX XXX 117
The Chief Justice of India in consulta tion with the Chief Justices of the High Courts should arrange for a thorough inquiry into the incidence of corruption among the judiciary and evolve in consultation with the Central and State Governments proper measures to prevent and eliminate it
Perhaps the setting up of vigilance organisations under the direct control of the Chief Justice of every High Court coordinated by a Central Vigilance Officer under the Chief Justice of India may prove to be an appropriate method
Para 122 XXX XXX XXX REPORT ON THE GOVERNMENT SERVANTS  CONDUCT RULES XXX XXX XXX Rule 15 15
The Committee attaches great impor tance to the changes recommended in the exist ing Rule 15 relating to the acquisition and disposal of property by Government servants
On the one hand these reports serve as a check against corruption and on the other it may be irritating to honest Government serv ants to be subject to restrictions 284 not imposed on other citizens
It is also necessary to ensure that the reports are such as to serve the purpose for which they are obtained
Further no reports need be obtained from those Government servants who have no opportunity to enrich themselves by unlawful means
The most important change made by the Committee in this rule is the replacement of the annual immovable property return by a complete periodical statement of assets and liabilities
In the circumstances now obtain ing in the country the immovable property return has ceased to have much significance
The Committee considers that in order to enable Government to ascertain whether any Government servant is in possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income or whether he is running into debt it is necessary that the Government servant should furnish a complete statement of his assets and liabilities periodically
The Committee considers that only the more important items of movable property should be reported specifically and that it would be sufficient if Government servants report the total value of other movable property except articles of daily use like clothes utensils crockery books etc
But it is essential that the value of movable property should be stated in the statement of assets and liabilities
The Committee considered the argument that there was no need for the submission of periodical returns of assets and liabilities and that it would be sufficient if such a statement is given once either on entry or after promulgation of these rules and that thereafter it should be enough if the Govern ment servant is required to report all trans actions in immovable property and all transac tions in movable property exceeding a speci fied value
The Committee decided to recommend that Government servants should be required to submit a periodical statement of assets and liabilities as it would not be reasonable to require the Government servants to report all the innumerable small transactions taking place continually
But as these small transac tions may cumulatively be sizable and have a big effect on his financial position the purpose will 285 be served only by obtaining a periodical balance sheet
The Committee however consid ers that the reports need not be frequent and that it may perhaps be sufficient if they are submitted once in five years
Another point that was consid ered by the Committee was whether jewellery should be included within the definition of movable property
The Committee recognises that inclusion of jewellery may be considered to be an unnecessary intrusion into the pri vate affairs of a Government servant
But jewellery constitute important assets and if excluded from the definition of movable property the balance sheet submitted by the Government servant may not set out the true picture emphasis supplied In view of the decision by a Constitution Bench in RS Nayak vs AR Antulay the correctness of which was not disputed before us we have to assume for the purpose of this case that no sanction under Section 6 of the Act was required for prosecution of the appellant since cognizance of the offence was taken after the appellant ceased to hold the office of Chief Justice on 741976 on his retirement
It was however contended that for the purpose of deciding the question of applicability of the Act to the appellant as a Judge or Chief Justice of the High Court the office with reference to which the offence under the Act is alleged to have been committed it is necessary to consider the feasibility of grant of sanction under Section 6 of the Act for prosecution of a person holding such an office
In other words the argument is that not withstanding the fact that no sanction was required for prosecution of the appellant after his retirement the need and feasibility of grant of the sanction under Section 6 of the Act if he was prosecuted before his retirement is the test to determine the applicability of the Act to a person holding the office of a Judge or Chief Justice of a High Court
It is argued that if the grant of sanction under Section 6 of the Act for prosecution of the incumbent for the offence is not feasible or envisaged the clear indica tion is that holder of such office does not fall within the purview of the Act
The question of grant of sanction under Section 6 for the prosecution of a Judge or Chief Justice of a High Court for an offence punishable under Section 52 of the Act is therefore of considerable importance to decide the main question in this appeal
Clauses a b and c in Sub section 1 of Section 6 exhaus 286 tively provide for the competent authority to grant sanction for prosecution in case of all the public servants failing within the purview of the Act
Admittedly such previous sanction is a condition precedent for taking cognizance of an offence punishable under the Act of a public servant who is prosecuted during his continuance in the office
It follows that the public servant falling within the purview of the Act must invariably fall within one of the three clauses in Sub section 1 of Section 6
It follows that the holder of an office even though a public servant  accord ing to the definition in the Act who does not fall within any of the clauses a b or c of Sub section 1 of Section 6 must be held to be outside the purview of the Act since this special enactment was not enacted to cover that category of public servants inspite of the wide definition of public servant  in the Act
This is the only manner in which these provisions of the Act can be harmonized and given full effect
The scheme of the Act is that a public servant who commits the offence of criminal misconduct as defined in the seven clauses of Sub section 1 of Section 5 can be punished in accordance with Subsection 2 of Section 5 after investigation of the offence in the manner prescribed and with the previous sanction of the competent authority obtained under Section 6 of the Act in a trial conducted according to the prescribed procedure
The grant of previous sanction under Section 6 being a condition precedent for the prosecution of a public servant covered by the Act it must follow that the holder of an office who may be a public servant according to the wide definition of the expression in the Act but whose category for the grant of sanction for prosecution is not envisaged by Section 6 of the Act is outside the purview of the Act not intended to be covered by the Act
This is the only manner in which a harmonious constitution of the provisions of the Act can be made for the purpose of achieving the object of that enact ment
This appears to be the obvious conclusion even for a case like the present where no such sanction for prosecution is necessary on the view taken in Antulay and not chal lenged before us that the sanction for prosecution under Section 6 is not necessary when cognizance of the offence is taken after the accused has ceased to hold the office in question
In this context it is useful to recall the analysis of Section 6 made in RS Nayak vs AR Antulay  which is as under Offences prescribed in Sections 161 164 and 165 IPC and Section 5 of the 1947 Act have an intimate and inseparable relation with the office of a public servant
A public servant occupies office which renders him a public servant and 287 occupying
the office carries with it the powers conferred on the office
Power general ly is not conferred on an individual person
In a society governed by rule of law power is conferred on office or acquired by statutory status and the individual occupying the office or on whom status is conferred enjoys the power of office or power flowing from the status
The holder of the office alone would have opportunity to abuse or misuse the of fice
These sections codify a well recognised truism that power has the tendency to corrupt
It is the holding of the office which gives an opportunity to use it for corrupt motives
Therefore the corrupt conduct is directly attributable and flows from the power con ferred on the office
The interrelation and interdependence between individual and the office he holds is substantial and not severa ble
Each of the three clauses of subsection 1 of Section 6 uses the expression office  and the power to grant sanction is conferred on the authority competent to remove the public servant from his office and Section 6 requires a sanction before taking cognizance of offences committed by public servant
The offence would be committed by the public servant by misusing or abusing the power of office and it is from that office the author ity must be competent to remove him so as to be entitled to grant sanction
The removal would bring about cessation of interrelation between the office and abuse by the holder of the office
The link between power with oppor tunity to abuse and the holder of office would be severed by removal from office
Therefore when a public servant is accused of an offence of taking gratification other then legal remuneration for doing or forebearing to do an official act Section 161 IPC or as a public servant abets offences punishable under Sec tions 161 and 163 Section 164 IPC or as public servant obtains a valuable thing with out consideration from person concerned in any proceeding or business transacted by such public servant Section 165 IPC or commits criminal misconduct as defined in Section 5 of the 1947 Act it is implicit in the various offences that the public servant has misused or abused the power of office held by him as public servant
The expression office  in the three sub clauses of Section 61 would clear ly denote that office which the public servant misused or abused for corrupt motives for which he is to be prosecuted and in respect of which a sanction to prosecute him is necessary by the competent authority 288 entitled to remove him from that office which he has abused
This interrelation between the office and its abuse if severed would render Section 6 devoid of any meaning
And this interrelation clearly provides a clue to the understanding of the provision in Section 6 providing for sanction by a competent authori ty who would be able to judge the action of the public servant before removing the bar by granting sanction to the taking of the cogni zance of offences by the court against the public servant
Therefore it unquestionably follows that the sanction to prosecute can be given by an authority competent to remove the public servant from the office which he has misused or abused because that authority alone would be able to know whether there has been a misuse or abuse of the office by the public servant and not some rank outsider
By a catena of decisions it has been held that the authority entitled to grant sanction must apply its mind to the facts of the case evidence collected and other incidental facts before according sanction
A grant of sanction is not an idle formality but a solemn and sacrosanct act which removes the umbrella of protection of Government servants against frivolous prosecutions and the aforesaid requirements must therefore be strictly complied with before any prosecution could be launched against public servants
See Mohd lqbal Ahmad vs State of AP   Legislature advisedly conferred power on the authority competent to remove the public servant from the office to grant sanction for the obvious reason that that authority alone would be able when facts and evidence are placed before him to judge whether a serious offence is committed or the prosecution is either frivolous or specula tive
That authority alone would be competent to judge whether on the facts alleged there has been an abuse or misuse of office held by the public servant
That authority would be in a position to know what was the power con ferred on the office which the public servant holds how that power could be abused for corrupt motive and whether prima facie it has been so done
That competent authority alone would know the nature and functions discharged by the public servant holding the office and whether the same has been abused or misused
It is the vertical hierarchy between the authority competent to remove the public servant from that office and the nature of the office held by the 289 public servant against whom sanction is sought which would indicate a hierarchy and which would therefore permit inference of knowledge about the functions and duties of the office and its misuse or abuse by the public servant
That is why the Legislature clearly provided that that authority alone would be competent to grant sanction which is entitled to remove the public servant against whom sanction is sought from the office emphasis supplied para 23 pp 204 206 It is significant from the above extract in Antulay that for the purpose of grant of sanction under Section 6 of the Act to prosecute the public servant a vertical hierarchy between the authority competent to remove the public servant from that office and the nature of the office held by the public servant against whom sanction is sought  is clearly envisaged and therefore the authority competent to remove the public servant from that office should be vertically superior in the hierarchy in which the office exists having the competence to judge the action of the public servant before removing the bar by granting sanction
In other words Section 6 applies only in cases where there is a vertical hierarchy of public offices and the public servant against whom sanction is sought is under the sanctioning authority in that hierarchy
It would follow that where the office held by the public servant is not a part of a verti cal hierarchy in which there is an authority above the public servant in that hierarchy by the very scheme of Section 6 it can have no application and holder of such office who does not have any vertical superior above him in the absence of any such hierarchy cannot be within the ambit of the enactment the Act not being envisaged or enacted for holder of such public office
The decisions of this Court have unequivocally held that a Judge or Chief Justice of a High Court is a constitutional functionary even though he holds a public office and in that sense may be included in the wide definition of public servant 
It is for this reason that the learned Solicitor General did not place reliance on clauses a and b of Sub section 1 of Sec tion 6 in the present case but relied on clause c thereof to contend that sanction thereunder can be obtained for the prosecution of a Judge or Chief Justice of a High Court since the holder of such an office can be removed from office by the President in accordance with clause 4 of Article 124 of the Constitution
This is the only argument for this purpose and therefore its tenability has to be tested
Section 61c provides for previous sanction in the case of any 
290 other person of the authority competent to remove him from his office 
Clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 which apply to a Judge of the Supreme Court are made applicable to Judges of the High Courts by virtue of Article 218
These may be re quoted here for readyreference 124
Establishment and constitution of Su preme Court 1 
XXX XXX XXX 4 A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of the House and by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members of that House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity
5 Parliament may by law regulate the procedure for the presentation of an address and for the investigation and proof of the misbehaviour or incapacity of a Judge under clause 4
XXX XXX XXX 218
Application of certain provi sions relating to Supreme Court to High Courts
The provisions of clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 Shall apply in relation to a High Court as they apply in relation to the Supreme Court with the substitution of refer ences to the High Court for references to the Supreme Court According to Article 1244 a Judge can be removed from his office by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by the pre scribed majority on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity
Since the order of removal in such a case is to be made by the President the learned Solicitor General contended that the competent authority to remove such a Judge as required by Section 61c is the President and it is in this manner that Section 61c is attracted
The question is whether this argument is tenable
291 There are several fallacies in this argument
Section 61c speaks of authority competent to remove  which plainly indicates the substantive competence of the authori ty to remove not merely the procedural or formal part of it
In other words the authority itself should be competent to remove or the one to decide the question of removal and not the which merely obeys or implements by the decision of some other authority
This conclusion is reinforced by the above extract from the Antulay decision which speaks of the vertical hierarchy between the authority competent to remove the public servant and the nature of the office held by the public servant indicating that the removing authority should have the competence to take a decision on the material placed before it for the purpose of deciding whether the public servant against whom sanction is sought has been prima facie guilty of abuse of his office so that there is occasion to bring about cessation of interrelation between the office and abuse by the holder of the office by his removal therefrom
Obviously the competent sanctioning authority envisaged thereby is a vertical superior in the hierarchy having some power of superintendence over the functioning of the public servant
Where no such relation ship exists in the absence of any vertical hierarchy and the holder of the public office is a constitutional functionary not subject to power of superintendence of any superior Section 6 can have no application by virtue of the scheme engrafted therein
The expression authority competent to remove  under Section 61c unless construed in this manner will foul with the construction made on Section 6 andits scheme in the Antulay decision
In SP Gupta  Ors
vs Union of India  Ors etc
 1982 2 SCR 365 it was clearly pointed out that a High Court Judge is a high constitutional functionary and while dealing with the question of the machinery having legal sanction to deal with a High Court Judge against whom alle gations of lack of intergrity and corruption were made it was stated as under 
Baldly put the question is Should an Additional Judge whose misbeha viour or lack of integrity has come to the fore he continued as an Additional Judge or confirmed as a Permanent Judge The answer at the first impulse and rightly would be in the negative but the question requires deeper consideration
If the misbehaviour or lack of integrity is glaringly self evident the ques tion of his continuance obviously cannot arise and in all probabilities will not engage the attention of the appointing authority 292 for the concerned Judge in such a situation would himself resign but when we talk of misbehaviour or lack of integrity on the part of an Additional Judge having come to the fore by and large the instances are of sus pected misbehaviour andor reported lack of integrity albeit based on opinions expressed in responsible and respectable quarters and the serious question that arises is whether in such cases the concerned Additional Judge should be dropped merely on opinion material or concrete facts and material in regard to allegations of misbehaviour andor lack of integrity should be insisted upon In my view since the question relates to the continuance of a high constitutional functionary like the Additional Judge of High Court it would be jeopardising his security and judicial inde pendence if action is taken on the basis or merely opinion material
Moreover no machin ery having legal sanction behind it for hold ing an inquiry disciplinary or otherwise against the concerned Judge on allegations of misbehaviour and or lack of integrity obtains in the Constitution or any law made by the Parliament save and except the regular proc ess of removal indicated in article 1244 and 5 read with article 218 and the Judges In quiry Act 1968Therefore the important question that arises in such cases of suspect ed misbehaviour andor reported lack of integ rity is who will decide and how whether the concerned Judge has in fact indulged in any misbehaviour or act of corruption In the absence of satisfactory machinery possessing legal sanction to reach a positive conclusion on the alleged misbehaviour or an act of corruption the decision to drop him shall have been arrived at merely on the basis of opin ions reports rumours or gossip and apart from being unfair and unjust to him such a course will amount to striking at the root of judicial independence
The other alternative namely to continue him as an Additional Judge for another term or to make him permanent if a vacancy is available and then take action for his removal under the regular process indicat ed in article 1244 and 5 read with article 2 18 and Judges Inquiry Act1968 may sound absurd but must be held to be inevitable if judicial independence a cardinal faith of our Consti tution is to be preserved and safeguarded
Not to have a corrupt Judge or a Judge who has misbehaved is unquestionably in public inter est but at the same time preserving judicial independence is of the highest public inter est
It is a question of 293 choosing the lesser evil and in inevitable course has to  be adopted not for the protec tion of the corrupt or dishonest judge but for protecting several other honest conscientious and hard working Judges by preserving their independence it is a price which the Society has to pay to avoid the greater evil that will ensue if judicial independence is sacrificed
Considering the question from the angle of public interest therefore I am clearly of the view that while considering the question of continuance of the sitting Additional Judges on the expiry of their initial term either as Additional Judges or as Permanent Judges the test of suitability contemplated within the consultative process under article 2171 should not be invoked at least until such time as proper machinery possessing legal sanction is provided for enabling a proper inquiry against an alleged errant Judge less cumbersome than the near impeachment process contemplated by article 1244 and 5 of the Constitution Tulzapurkar J  pp 920 21   
As the law now stands it is not open to any single individual whether it is the President or the Chief Justice of India or anybody else to take cognizance of any allegations of misbehaviour or of incapacity of a Judge and to take any legal action on their basis under the Judges Inquiry Act1968
One hundred Members of the Lok Sabha or fifty Members of the Rajya Sabha alone can initiate any action on such allega tions
Naturally all others are excluded from taking cognizance of them and acting on them   Venkataramiah J pp
1338 39 emphasis supplied Even though the above observations were made in the context of continuance in office of Additional Judge of the High Court and the transfer of Judges to another High Court yet the nature of office of a High Court Judge and the only legal sanction available under the existing law to deal with them even in the event of allegations of corruption was clearly spelt out
It was pointed out that ordinarily such a person faced with cogent material against him would resign but in case he does not the only remedy available is his removal from office in accordance with clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 read with Article 294 218 of the Constitution till a suitable provision with legal sanction is made
It was also pointed out that the object served in this manner was the greater public interest to preserve independence of judiciary and not to protect the corrupt Judge who was an exception
The scheme of the exist ing law to deal with such situations was considered at length and it was also held that even the power to transfer under Article 222 of the Constitution to another High Court could not be exercised for these reasons
In this context clause 5 of Article 124 is also of considerable significance
The construction made of the provisions of the Act must also fit in with the scheme of clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 read with Article 2 18 of the Constitution in order to present a harmonious scheme
Clause 5 of Article 124 enables enactment of a special law by the Parliament to regulate the procedure for presentation of an address and for the investigation  and proof  of the misbehaviour  or incapacity of a Judge under clause 4
It is in exercise of this power that the Parliament has enacted the 
It is significant that clause 5 of Article 124 covers the field of investiga tion  and proof  of the misbehaviour  of a Judge
There can be no doubt that the expression misbehaviour  is of wide import and includes within its ambit criminal miscon duct as defined in Sub section 1 of Section 5 of the Act as also lesser misconduct of a Judge falling short of crimi nal misconduct
The special law envisaged by Article 1245 for dealing with the misbehaviour of a Judge covers the field of investigation  and proof  of the misbehaviour  and the only punishment provided is by Article 1244 of removal from office
There is no escape from the conclusion that Article 1245 is wide enough to include within its ambit every conduct of a Judge amounting to misbehaviour including criminal misconduct and prescribes the procedure for investigation and proof thereof
Thus even for the procedure for investigation into any misbehaviour of a Judge as well as its proof a law enacted by the Parliament under Article 1245 is envisaged in the constitutional scheme
Such a law in the form of the and the rules framed thereunder has been enacted
These provi sions were made in the Constitution and the law thereunder enacted when the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 was in the Statute Book
The prior enactment and existence of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 at the time then clause 4 and 5 of Article 124 of the Constitution were framed does indicate the constitutional scheme that a separate parliamentary law to deal with the investigation and proof of misbehaviour of a Judge was clearly contemplated by providing a special machinery for this category of constitu tional functionaries 295 notwithstanding the general law available and applicable to the public servants in general which included the Preven tion of Corruption Act 1947
If special provisions in the form of clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 and Article 2 18 of the Constitution and the special enactment by the Parlia ment under Article 1245 were provided in the constitution al scheme for Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court there can be no valid reason to hold that they are governed by the general provisions in addition to these special provisions enacted only for them
The need for these special provisions is a clear pointer in the direction of inapplicability to them of the general provisions applicable to the public servants holding other public offices not as constitutional functionaries
Construction of Section 61c of the Act as suggested by the learned Solicitor General by treating the President as the competent authori ty to remove a High Court Judge would conflict with the provisions enacted in clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 read with Article 218 of the Constitution
Such a construc tion has undoubtedly to be avoided
This is more so since the rejection of such an argument would not in any manner jeopardise the provisions of the Act as it would result only in the failure of the attempt to bring the constitutional functionaries such as Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court within the purview of that Act while the Act would continue to apply to the public servants in general who fall within the scheme of Section 6 of the Act for the purpose of grant of previous sanction for prosecution which is a condition precedent for cognizance of an offence pun ishable under that Act
It can also not be overlooked that the Santhanam Commit tee Report did not consider the judiciary within its purview and it merely made certain recommendations to devise a machinery involving the Chief Justice of India to deal with the cases of errant Judges
The 1964 amendment made in the Act pursuant to the recommendations of the Santhanam Commit tee did not make any amendment in the Act to indicate that Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court were also brought within the purview of the Act
It was thereafter that the Judges Inquiry Act 1963 and the rules framed thereunder were enacted to provide for the investigation and proof of allegations of misbehaviour of a Judge in accord ance with Article 1245 of the Constitution
The decision in SP Gupta was rendered much later and while dealing with the situations arising out of allegations of misbehaviour including corruption against High Court Judges it was held that the only machinery with legal sanction in existence is that available under clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 of the Constitution
It is reasonable to assume that while rendering the decision in SP Gupta 296 where in the question of dealing with some Judges against whom allegations of lack of integrity and corruption also were made and the question was of the machinery available for dealing with them the learned Judges could not have been unaware of the provisions of the Act while taking the view that the only legal machinery available under the existing law is that in accordance with clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 of the Constitution
These are strong reasons to hold that Section 61c of the Act is inappliable to a Judge of a High Court or the Supreme Court and for that reason such constitutional functionaries do not fall within the purview of the Act
An additional reason indicating inapplicability of the Act is the practical difficulty in applying criminal miscon duct defined in clause e of Sub section 1 of Section 5 of the Act to a Judge of a High Court or the Supreme Court
The history of insertion of this clause y the 1964 amend ment to the Act is well known
What was earlier a rule of evidence in Sub section 3 of Section 5 of the Act was made a substantive offence of criminal misconduct by insert ing clause e in Sub section 1 of Section 5 by this amendment
Apart from the argument of the learned counsel for the appellant that the inability to satisfactorily account for possession of disproportionate assets is an ingredient of the offence in clause e practical require ment of this clause is a further pointer to indicate inap plicability thereof to a Judge of a High Court or the Su preme Court
The fact remains that while according sanction to prosecute under Section 6 of the Act the competent authority has to satisfy itself about the public servant s inability to satisfactorily account for possession of dis proportionate assets
As held in Antulay the competent authority before granting sanction has to apply its mind and be satisfied about the existence of a prima facie case for prosecution of the public servant on the basis of the mate rial placed before it
In order to form an objective opin ion the competent authority must undoubtedly have before it the version of the public servant on the basis of which the conclusion can be reached whether it amounts to satisfactory account or not
It is well known and is also clear from the Report of the Santhanam Committee that the rules applicable to the public servants in general regulating their conduct require them to furnish periodical information of their assets which form a part of their service record
The recom mendations of the Santhanam Committee after which the 1964 amendment inserting clause e in Sub section 1 of Section 5 was made suggest some amendment to the rules governing the conduct of public servants for giving periodical infor mation of all their assets
Prescribing the substantive offence by insertion of clause e as a part of the same schem 297 of amendment also suggests the manner in which this require ment of the offence of inability to satisfactorily account can be examined by the competent authority while granting sanction to prosecute the public servant
These words in clause e have to be given some meaning which would place the burden on the prosecution howsoever light to make out a prima facie case for obtaining sanction of the competent authority under Section 6 of the Act and this can be done only if it is read as a part of the scheme under which the public servant is required to furnish particulars of his assets with reference to which the disproportion and his inability to satisfactorily account can be inferred
This requirement can be easily satisfied in the case of public servants governed by conduct rules requiring them to furnish periodical returns of theirassets and to intimate the superior in the hierarchy of acquisition of every material assets so that his service record at all times contains particulars of his known assets
In the case of such public servants whenever sanction to prosecute is sought under Section 6 of the Act the competent authority can form the requisite opinion on the basis of the available material including the service record of the public servant to come to the conclusion whether the offence under clause e of possession of disproportionate assets which the public servant cannot satisfactorily account is made out prima facie
In the case of Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court there is no such requirement under any provi sion of furnishing particulars of their assets so as to provide a record thereof with reference to which such an opinion can be formed and there is no vertical superior with legal authority enabling obtaining of information from the concerned Judge
It does appear that this too is a pointer in the direction that even after the 1964 amendment of the Act following the Report of the Santhanam Committee when clause e was inserted in Sub section 1 of Section 5 of the Act the Legislature did not intend to include Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court within the purview of the enactment
If the Act is applicable to Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court it is obvious that the same must apply also to the Chief Justice of India the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Chief Election Commissioner
Incongruous results would follow in such an event even assuming that the guidelines suggested by the learned Solic itor General are deemed to be incorporated in the Act by implication while dealing with persons holding these of fices
Apart from the legal permissibility of implying these guidelines in the Act there are obvious practical difficul ties which cannot be overcome
In the proposed guidelines it was suggested that the involvement of the Chief Justice of India invariably should be read even for commencing the 298 investigation into the offence and the President while granting the sanction under Section 61c would also act on the advice of the Chief Justice of India
Assuming that it is permissible to do so in the absence of any such provi sion in the Act the problem which stares us in the face is what is to be done where such action is contemplated against the Chief Justice of India himself
Any provision which cannot apply to the Chief Justice of India cannot obviously apply to the Judges of the Supreme Court or for that matter even to the High Court Judges since the Chief Justice of India is not a vertical superior of any of them there being no such vertical hierarchy and the Chief Justice of India having no power of superintendence even over the High Court Judges much less the Supreme Court Judges The incumbent of the office of Chief Justice of India exercises only moral authority over his colleagues in the Supreme Court and the High Court Judges which has no legal sanction behind it making it justiciable
In the case of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Chief Election Commissioner the situation would be more piquant
Obviously the Chief Jus tice of India cannot be involved in the process relating to them and there is none else to fill that role in that situa tion
The Constitution while providing that their position would be akin to that of a Judge of the Supreme Court could not have intended to place them on a pedestal higher than that of a Supreme Court Judge
The infirmity of this argu ment advanced by the learned Solicitor General invoking the aid of certain implied guidelines involving the Chief Jus tice of India in the process of contemplated action under the Act against a Judge of the High Court or the Supreme Court leaves more questions unanswered that it answers
That apart if the Act was intended to apply to these con stitutional functionaries it could not have been enacted leaving such gaping holes which are incapable of being plugged to present a comprehensive scheme for this purpose
It was also suggested at the hearing that the absence of need of sanction for prosecution under Section 6 of the Act after the public servant ceases to hold office as held in Antulay suggests answer to the question of construction posed in this case
It does not appear to be so
The need for sanction under Section 6 for prosecution of the holder of a public office indicates the ambit and scope of the enactment for deciding whether the holder of a public office falls within the purview of the enactment
No doubt as held in Antulay no sanction for prosecution under Section 6 is required after the public servant ceases to hold office but it does not imply that every holder of a public office after ceasing to hold that office is within the purview of the enactment even though during the tenure in office only those public servants are 299 within its ambit in whose case sanction under Section 6 must be obtained
The ambit of the enactment is to be determined on the basis of the public office held by the public serv ant which office is alleged to have been abused during the tenure for committing the offence of criminal misconduct under the Act and it is not the fact of continuance in that office or ceasing to hold it which decides the ambit of the enactment
In other words if the holder of a public office during his tenure in office cannot be prosecuted without sanction under Section 6 then as held in Antulay no sanction for his prosecution after ceasing to hold the office may be necessary but his prosecution is made because while in office he could be prosecuted With the previous sanction under Section 6
Conversely if the holder of a public office while continuing in that office could not be prosecuted under this Act on account of inapplicability of Section 6 and therefore the non feasibility of previous sanction for prosecution under Section 6 then on his ceas ing to hold the office he is not brought within the purview of the Act merely because Antulay decides that no sanction for prosecution under Section 6 is needed after the holder of a public office ceases to hold that office
It is for the purpose of construing the provisions of the enactment and determining the scope and ambit thereof and for deciding whether the holder of a public office comes within the purview of the enactment that the feasibility of previous sanction for prosecution and applicability of Section 6 of the Act is important
In short it is for the purpose of construction of the provisions of the enactment and deter mining its scope that Section 6 which prescribes the condi tion precedent of previous sanction for prosecution for the offence of criminal misconduct punishable under Section 52 of the Act holds the key which unlocks the true vistas of the enactment
The concept of sanction for prosecution by a superior is so inextricably woven into the fabric of the enactment that the pattern is incomplete without it
The clear legislative intent is that the enactment applies only to those in whose case sanction of this kind is contemplated and those to whom the provision of sanction cannot squarely apply are outside its ambit
The provision for sanction is like the keystone in the arch of the enactment
Remove the keystone of sanc tion and the arch crumbles
The conclusion that the Act does not apply to these constitutional functionaries namely Judges of the High Courts Judges of the Supreme Court the Comptroller and Additor General and the Chief Election Commissioner need not be viewed with scepticism or treated as their exclusion from the purview of the Act as if they are ordinarily 300 within its ambit
A proper perception would indicate that these constitutional functionaries were never intended to fail within the ambit of the Act as initially enacted in 1947 when provisions similar to Articles 1244  5 of the Constitution were present in the Government of India Act 1935 nor was any such attempt made by amendment of the Act  in 1964 subsequent to the Report of the Santhanam Committee and the same position continues in the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988
If there is now a felt need to provide for such a situation the remedy lies in suitable parliamentary legislation for the purpose preserving the independence of judiciary free from likely executive influ ence while providing a proper and adequate machinery for investigation into allegations of corruption against such constitutional functionaries and for their trial and punish ment after the investigation
The remedy is not to extend the existing law and make it workable by reading into it certain guidelines for which there is no basis in it since the Act was not intended to apply to them
The test of applicability of the existing law would be the legal sanc tion and justiciability of the proposed guidelines without which it is unworkable in the case of such persons
In fact the very need to read the proposed guidelines in the exist ing law by implication is a clear indication that the law as it exists does not apply to them
Making the law applicable with the aid of the suggested guidelines is not in the domain of judicial craftmanship but a naked usurpation of legislative power in a virgin field
It appears that the framers of the Constitution while dealing with such constitutional functionaries contemplated merely their removal from office in the manner provided in Article 1244 as the only punishment and a special law enacted by the Parliament under Article 1245 even for investigation and proof of any misbehaviour alleged against a superior Judge instead of the general law was clearly visualised when the alleged misbehaviour is connected with his office
A charge of corruption against a superior Judge amounting to criminal misconduct by abuse of his office would certainly fail within the ambit of misbehaviour con templated under Article 1245 since misbehaviour of a Judge in the form of corruption by abuse of his office would be an act of gross misbehaviour justifying his removal from office irrespective of other legal sanction if any to punish a corrupt Judge
It cannot be imagined that the framers of the Constitution provided for removal of a supe rior Judge on lesser grounds of misbehaviour but nor for the gross misbehaviour of corruption
There is no escape from the conclusion that the gross misbehaviour of corruption of a Judge must undoubtedly fall within the ambit or Article 1245 justifying his removal in the manner provided in Article 1244
Article 1245 con 301 templates a special law enacted by the Parliament even for investigation into any allegation of misbehaviour which must include an allegation of corruption
Can it therefore be said that while investigation into the allegation of corrup tion for the purpose of removal under Article 1244 needs a special law made by the Parliament under Article 1245 it is not so for his prosecution which can be made under the provisions of the existing Prevention of Corruption Act It appears that the framers of the Constitution did not contem plate the need for prosecution of a Judge at that level and expected that a superior Judge would resign if faced with credible material in support of allegations of misbehaviour and in case he did not resign his removal under Article 1245 would be sufficient to deal with the situation
The need for his prosecution was not visualised and therefore not provided for in the existing law
The Act had already been made when the Constitution was framed and the amendment made in the Act in 1964 was after the experience for some time of the functioning of the judiciary under the Constitu tion
It is significant that even the  was enacted under Article 1245 of the Constitution much later and after the 1964 amendment of the Act
The fact that the Parliament did not enact any other law even then for the investigation into allegations of corruption against a superior Judge and for his trial and punishment for that offence and rest content merely with enacting the  to provide for the procedure for remov al of a Judge under Article 1244 is a clear pointer in the direction that the Parliament has not as yet considered it expedient to enact any such law for the trial and punishment on the charge of corruption of a superior Judge except by his removal from office in the manner prescribed
It may also be noticed that the provisions of the  provide the procedure for investigation and proof of an allegation of corruption against a superior Judge and if the Prevention of Corruption Act is held applicable to them then there would be two separate procedures under these two enactments providing for investigation into the same charge
Can this anomaly and incongruity be attributed to a conscious act of the Parliament while enacting the  after the 1964 amendment in the Act
Maybe need is now felt for a law providing for trial and punishment of a superior Judge who is charged with the criminal misconduct of corruption by abuse of his office
If that be so the Parliament being the sole arbiter it is for the Parliament to step in and enact suitable legislation in consonance with the constitutional scheme which provides for preservation of the independence of judiciary and it is not for this Court to expand the field of operation of the existing law to cover 302 the superior Judges by usurping the legislative function of enacting guidelines to be read in the existing law by impli cation since without the proposed guidelines the existing legislation cannot apply to them
Such an exercise by the Court does not amount to construing an ambiguous provision to advance the object of its enactment but would be an act of trenching upon a virgin field of legislation and bringing within the ambit of the existing legislation a category of persons outside it to whom it was not intended to apply either as initially enacted or when amended later
In this context it would not be out of place to mention that this unfortunate situation has also another dimension
The framers of the Constitution had visualised that the constitutional scheme for appointment of the superior Judges would ensure that by an honest exercise performed by all the constitutional functionaries of their obligation in the process of appointment of a superior Judge there would be no occasion to try and punish any appointee to such a high office for an act of corruption
Appointment of superi or Judges is from amongst persons of mature age with known background and reputation in the legal profession
By that age the personality is fully developed and the propensities and background of the appointee is well known
The collec tive wisdom of the constitutional functionaries involved in the process of appointing a superior Judge is expected to ensure that persons of unimpeachable integrity alone are appointed to these high offices and no doubtful persons gain entry
In the case of any late starter or an exception the power of removal in accordance with Article 1244 by adopt ing the procedure prescribed under Article 1245 was ex pected to be sufficient to eradicate the exceptional menace while preserving independence of the judiciary
If this scheme is found to be inadequate in the present context it is also indicative of the failure of the constitutional functionaries involved in the process of appointments in fulfilling the confidence reposed in them
It is not unlike ly that the care and attention expected from them in the discharge of this obligation has not been bestowed in all cases
The need for such legislation now would therefore not be entirely on account of the absence of it so far but also due to the failure of proper discharge of this consti tutional obligation and not any defect in the constitutional scheme
It is therefore time that all the constitutional functionaries involved in the process of appointment of superior Judges should be fully alive to the serious impli cations of their constitutional obligation and be zealous in its discharge in order to ensure that no doubtful appoint ment can be made even if sometime a good appointment does not go through
This is not difficult to achieve
The work ing of the appointment process is a 303 matter connected with this question and not divorced from it
most often it is only a bad appointment which could have been averred that gives rise to a situation raising the question of the need of such a law
Due emphasis must therefore be laid on prevention even while taking curative measures
It is a sad commentary on the working of the appointment process and the behaviour of some of the appointees which has led to this situation
The confidence reposed in them by the framers of the Constitution has been betrayed to this extent
It was expected that the superior Judges who were constituted into a different class and created as superior morally not needing the deterrence of such a law to punish them would be alive to the need of a high code of conduct regulating their behaviour justifying the absence of such a law for them
It was reasonable to further expect that the aberrations if any in their rank would be subject to the moral and social sanction of their community ensuring that they tread the right path
The social sanction of their own community was visualised as sufficient safeguard with im peachment and removal from office under Article 1244 being the extreme step needed if at all
It appears that the social sanction of the community has been waning and inade quate of late
If so the time for legal sanction being provided may have been reached
No doubt for the judicial community in general it would be a sad day to become suspect needing such a legislation to keep it on the right track
However that is the price the entire community has to pay if its internal checks in the form of moral and social sanction are found deficient and inadequate to meet the situation which legal sanction alone can prevent
It is for the Parliament to decide whether that stage has reached in the superior judiciary when legal sanction alone can be the remedy for maintenance of public confidence in the integrity of the superior judiciary without which independence of the judiciary would itself be in jeopardy
The view that Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court are outside the purview of the Prevention of Corrup tion Act fits in with the constitutional scheme and is also in harmony with the several nuances of the entire existing law relating to the superior Judges while the contrary view fouls with it at several junctures and leaves many gaping holes which cannot be filled by judicial exercise
The patchwork of proposing guidelines suggested by the learned Solicitor General apart from being an impermissible judicial exercise also does not present a complete and harmonious picture and fails to provide answers to several obvious querries which arise
The inescapable con 304 clusion therefore is that the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 as amended by the 1964 amendment is inapplicable to Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court
Juris prudentially this conclusion need not be anathema as stated in section 84 In the absence of a statute misfeasance of a judicial officer is not a criminal offence impeachment being the exclusive remedy
 These words summarise the true legal position in the case of superior Judges who are separately classified in the consti tutional scheme itself
There is nothing strange about the above view since the scheme in some other countries also appears to be the same
In recent years in some countries there were instances which provoked a strong debate on the subject and different remedies were advocated to deal with the situation
It may be mentioned that instances of punishment for corruption in earlier centuries including the indictment of Lord Bacon is not apposite for the reason that the situation then was not akin to the scheme in the Indian Constitution for the judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court and the protection given to them for ensuring the independence of judiciary
As indicated earlier while adopting curative measures for the malady a renewed emphasis on its prevention in the future has to be borne in mind
In this context it is useful to recall the high esteem in which the higher judici ary was held by the prime builders of our nation in its nascent stage
In a letter dated 18th December 1947 to the Prime Minister Pt
Jawaharlal Nehru and the Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel the first Chief Justice of free India said Under the Constitution Act provi sions can be made for the appointment the salary pension leave and removal of the judges
In addition to that I think it will be desirable to insert a provision under the Act or to frame statutory rule under the Act defining the relations between the judiciary and the executive
All communications in respect of the appointments and the griev ances if any of the judges should come from the Chief Justice of the provincial High Court through the Governor and not through the Home Department of the province
I recog nise that the Governor General or the Presi dent who will be an elected person will have to consult the Cabinet according to the 305 Rules of Business framed for working the Central Government
It seems to me however fundamentally essential that the High Courts the Federal Court and the Supreme Court when established should not be considered a part of or working under any department of the executive Government of India
It should be an independent branch of the Government in touch directly with the GovernorGeneral or the President of the Dominion of India
I am sure the Cabinet will agree to the principle of keeping the judiciary free from the control of the executive
The duty and credit for maintaining this high tradition is on the Government in existence when the Constitution and the statutory rules are framed and I have written this to you confi dently hoping that you share my desire to safeguard the dignity and independence of the judiciary and will do the needful in the matter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel promptly replied to the Chief Justice of India saying your views will be very helpful to us in dealing with the subject  Sardar Patel s Correspondence 1945 50 edited by Durga Das Vol
VI pp 274 76 The framers of the Constitution had visualized the higher echelons of the judiciary as comprised of men of strong moral and ethical fibre who would provide moral leadership in the society of free India and function as the sentinel of the other wings of the State not needing scruti ny themselves
Our Constitution provides for separation of powers of the three wings of the State with judicial review as one of the essential tenets of the basic structure of the Constitution
It is thus the judiciary which is entrusted with the task of interpretation of the Constitution and ensuring that the other two wings do not overstep the limit delineated for them by the Constitution
With this duty entrusted to the higher judiciary it was natural to expect that the higher judiciary would not require any other agency to keep a watch over it and the internal discipline flowing from the moral sanction of the community itself will be sufficient to keep it on the right track without the re quirement of any external check which may have the tendency to interfere with the independence of the judiciary a necessary concomitant of the proper exercise of its consti tutional obligation
It is for this reason that the higher
judiciary was treated differently in the 306 Constitution indicating the great care and attention be stowed in prescribing the machinery for making the appoint ments
It was expected that any deviation from the path of rectitude at that level would be a rare phenomenon and for the exceptional situation the provision for removal in accordance with clause 4 of Article 124 was made the difficulty in adopting that course being itself indicative of the rarity with which it was expected to be invoked
It appears that for a rare aberrant at that level unless he resigned when faced with such a situation removal from office in accordance with Article 1244 was envisaged as the only legal sanction
If this was the expectation of the framers of the Constitution and their vision of the moral fibre in the higher echelons of the judiciary in free India there is nothing surprising in the omission to bring them within the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 or absence of a similar legislation for them alone
Obviously this position continued even during the delibera tions of the Santhanam Committee which clearly mentioned inits Report submitted in 1964 that it has considered the judiciary outside the ambit of its deliberations
Clearly it was expected that the higher judiciary whose word would be final in the interpretation of all laws including the Constitution will be comprised of men leading in the spirit of self sacrifice concerned more with their obligations than rights so that there would be no occasion for anyone else to sit in judgment over them
If it is considered that the situation has altered requiring scrutiny of the conduct of even Judges at the highest level and that it is a matter for the Parliament to decide then the remedy lies in enacting suitable legislation for that purpose providing for said guards to ensure independence of judiciary since the exist ing law does not provide for that situation
Any attempt to bring the Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court within the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act by a seemingly constructional exercise of the enactment appears to me in all humility an exercise to fit a square peg in a round hole when the two were never intended to match
I would therefore allow the appeal even though by the majority view it must fail
ORDER In view of the majority judgments the appeal is dismissed
RP Appeal dismissed


Summary:
A complaint against the appellant a former Chief Jus tice of a High Court was made to the CBI on which a case under section 52 read with section 5 I e of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 was registered on 2421976
On 2821976 the FIR was filed in the court of Special Judge
The appellant proceeded on leave from 931976 and retired 841976 on attaining the age of superannuation
The investigation culminated in the filing of charge sheetfinal report under section 1732 Cr
PC against the appellant on 15121977 before the Special Judge
The Charge sheet stated that the appellant after assum ing office of the Chief Justice on 151969 gradually com menced accumulation of assets and was in possession of pecuniary resources and property in his name and in the names of his wife and two sons disproportionate to his known sources of income for the period between the date of his appointment as Chief Justice and the date of registra tion of the case and thereby he committed the offence of criminal misconduct under section 5 1 e punishable under section 52 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947
The Special judge issued process for appearance of the appellant
Mean while the appellant moved the High Court under section 482 Cr
PC to quash the said criminal proceedings
The matter was heard by a Full Bench of the High Court which dismissed the application by 21 majority but granted a certificate under Articles 1321 and 1341c of the Constitution in view of the important question of law in volved
In appeal to this Court it was contended by the appel lant that the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 do not apply to a judge of a superior Court as for such prosecution previous sanction of an authority competent to remove a public servant as provided under section 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 is imperative and power to remove a Judge is not vested in any single individual authority but is 191 vested in the two Houses of Parliament and the President under Article 1244 of the Constitution that the Parlia ment cannot be the sanctioning authority for the purpose of section 6 and if the President is regarded as the authority he cannot act independently as he exercises his powers by and with the advice of his Council of Ministers and the Execu tive may misuse the power by interfering with the judici ary that section 6 applies only in cases where there is master and servant relationship between the public servant and the authority competent to remove him and where there is verti cal hierarchy of public offices and the sanctioning authori ty
is vertically superior in the hierarchy in which office of the public servant against whom sanction is sought ex ists that no prosecution can be launched against a Judge of a superior Court under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act except in the mode envisaged by Article 1244 of the Constitution that no law prohibits a public servant having in his possession assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and such possession becomes an offence only when the public servant is unable to account for it and that the public servant is entitled to an oppor tunity by the investigating officer to explain dispropor tionality between the assets and the known sources of income and the charge sheet must contain such an averment and failure to mention that requirement would vitiate the charge sheet and render it invalid and no offence under section 51e of the Act could be made out
On the questions 1 whether a Judge of a High Court or of the Supreme Court is a public servant  within the mean ing of section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 2 whether a Judge of the High Court including the Chief Jus tice or a Judge of the Supreme Court can be prosecuted for an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 and 3 who is the competent authority to remove a Judge either of the Supreme Court or of the High Court from his office in order to enable that authority to grant sanction for prose cution of the Judge under the provisions of section 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947
Dismissing the appeal this Court HELD Per Majority Ray Shetty Sharma and Venkatachaliah JJ
A Judge of a High Court or of the Supreme Court is a public servant  within the meaning of section 2 of the Preven tion of Corruption Act 1947
Prosecution of a Judge of a High Court including the Chief 192 Justice or a Judge of the Supreme Court can be launched after obtaining sanction of the competent authority as envisaged by section 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act
Per Verma J dissenting 1
i A Judge or Chief Justice of a High Court is a Constitutional functionary even though he holds a public office and in that sence he may be included in the wide definition of a public servant
But a public servant whose category for the grant of sanction for prosecution is not envisaged by section 6 of the Act is outside the purview of the Act not intended to be covered by the Act
1ii The Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 as amended by the 1964 amendment is inapplicable to Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court
Per Majority Ray Shetty and Venkatachaliah JJ 31 For the purpose of section 61c of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 the President of India is the authori ty competent to give previous sanction for prosecution of a Judge of a superior Court
32 No criminal case shall be registered under section 154 Cr
PC against a Judge of the High Court Chief Justice of the High Court or a Judge of the Supreme Court unless the Chief Justice of India is consulted in the matter
33 If the Chief Justice of India himself is the person against whom the allegations of criminal misconduct are received the Government shall consult any other judge or Judges of the Supreme Court
34 There shall be similar consultation at the stage of examining the question of granting sanction for prosecution and it shall be necessary and appropriate that the question of sanction be guided by and in accordance with the advice of the Chief Justice of India
Sharma
J contra As to who is precisely the authority for granting previ ous sanction for prosecution of a Judge is a matter which did not arise in the instant case and will have to be final ly decided when it directly arises
How 193 ever the issues of removal under article 1244 of the Consti tution and sanction under section 6 of the Act can be combined for getting clearance from the Parliament
Verma
J dissenting 3
Section 6 of the Act is inapplicable to Judges of High Courts or of the Supreme Court and such Constitutional functionaries do not fail within the purview of the Preven tion of Corruption Act 1947
Per BC Ray J 1
A Judge of the High Court or of the Supreme Court comes within the definition of public servant under section 2 of the Prevention of corruption Act 1947
and he is liable to be prosecuted under the provisions of the Act
223E F 21 A Judge will be liable for committing criminal misconduct within the meaning of section 51e of the Act if he has in his possession pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to his known sources of income for which he cannot satisfactorily account
217B 22 A Judge of a superior Court will not be immune from prosecution for criminal offences committed during the tenure of his office under the provisions of the Act
223F 31 In order to launch a prosecution against a Judge of a superior Court for criminal misconduct failing under section 51e of the Act previous sanction of the authority competent to remove a Judge including Chief Justice of a High Court from his office is imperative
217C D 221G 32 The President of India has the power to appoint as well as to remove a Judge from his office on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity as provided in Article 124 of the Constitution and therefore he being the authority competent to appoint and to remove a Judge of course in accordance with the procedure envisaged in clauses4 and 5 of Article 124 may be deemed to be the authroity to grant sanction for prosecution of a Judge under the provi sions of section 61c in respect of the offences provided in section 51e of the Act
225G H 226A B 33 In order to adequately protect a Judge from frivo lous prosecution and unnecessary harassment the President will consult the Chief Justice of India who will consider all the materials placed before 194 him and tender his advice to the President for giving sanc tion to launch prosecution or for filing FIR against the Judge concerned after being satisfied in the matter
The President shall act in accordance with the advice given by the Chief Justice of India
226B C If the Chief Justice of India is of opinion that it is not a fit case for grant of sanction for prosecution of the Judge concerned the President shall not accord sanction to prosecute the Judge
This will save the fudge concerned from unnecessary harassment as well as from frivolous prose cution against him
226C In the case of the Chief justice of the Supreme Court the President shall consult such of the Judges of the Su preme Court as he may deem fit and proper and shall act in accordance with the advice given to him by the Judge or Judges of the Supreme Court
226D 34 In the instant case the appellant had resigned from his office and ceased to be a public servant on the date of lodging the FIR against him by the CBI and therefore no sanction under section 61c of the Act was necessary
227A 228C RS Nayak vs AR Antulay   referred to
41 A Judge of the Supreme Court as well as a Judge of the High Court is a constitutional functionary and to main tain the independence of the judiciary and to enable the Judge to effectively discharge his duties as a judge and to maintain the rule of law even in respect of against the Central Government or the State Government he is made totally independent of the control and influence of the executive by mandatorily embodying in Article 124 or Article 217 of the Constitution that a Judge can only be removed from his office in the manner provided in clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124
222B D 42 Power to remove by impeachment or address a person holding office during good behaviour is an essential coun terpart to the independence secured to the holders of high office by making their tenure one of good behaviour instead of at pleasure
224D E 43 A Judge of the Supreme Court or of the High Court can only be removed on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity by an order of the President passed after follow ing the mandatory procedure expressly laid down in Article 1244 of the Constitution
Without an address by each of the Houses of the Parliament the President is not 195 empowered under the Constitution to order removal of a Judge of the Supreme Court or of the High Court from his office on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity
Therefore the repository of this power is not in the President alone but it is exercised after an address by each of the Houses of Parliament in the manner provided in Article 1244
218B H 219A Union of India vs Sakalchand  and SP Gupta and Ors
vs President of India and Ors AIR 1982 SC 149 referred to
There is no master and servant relationship or employer and employee relationship between a Judge and the President of India in whom the executive power of the Union is vested under the provisions of Article 53 of the Consti tution
222E 6
It is necessary to evolve some method commensurate with the grant of sanction in cases of serious allegations of corruption and acquisition or the possession of dispro portionate assets which the Judge cannot satisfactory ac count for or possession of property disproportionate to the sources of income of the Judge
Otherwise it will create a serious inroad on the dignity respect and credibility and integrity of the high office which a superior fudge occu pies resulting in the erosion of the dignity and respect for the high office of the Judges in the estimation of the public
225E F 71 The purpose of grant of previous sanction before prosecuting a public servant including a Judge of the High Court or of the Supreme Court is to protect the Judge from unnecessary harassment and frivolous prosecution more par ticularly to save the Judge from the biased prosecution for giving judgment in a case which goes against the Government or its officers though based on good reasons and rule of law
226D E 72 Frivolous prosecution cannot be launched against a Judge for giving a judgment against the Central Government or any of its officers inasmuch as such decision does not amount to misbehaviour within the meaning of Article 124 of the Constitution
226G H Shamsher Singh  Ant
vs State of Punjab  and GK Daphtary vs
OP Gupta   re ferred to
Per Shetty and Venkatachaliah JJ
196 1
The expression public servant as defined under section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 means a public serv ant as defined in section 21 IPC
From the very commencement of the IPC Every Judge finds a place in the categories of public servant defined under section 21 and this expression indicates all Judges and all Judges of all Courts
It is a general term and general term in the Act should not be narrowly construed
It must receive comprehensive meaning unless there is positive indication to the contrary
There is no such indication to the contrary in the Act
A Judge of the superior Court cannot therefore excluded from the defi nition of public servant 
237C 240D 242A B 21 A public servant cannot be prosecuted for offences specified in section 5 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 unless there is prior sanction under section 6 for prosecution from the competent authority
237E 22 There are two requirements for the applicability of clause c of section 61 to a Judge of the higher judiciary the Judge must be a public servant and there must be an authority competent to remove him from his of fice
If these two requirements are complied with a Judge cannot escape from the operation of the Act
240B C 23 The Judges are liable to be dealt with just the same way as any other person in respect of criminal offence
It is only in taking of bribes or with regard to the offence of corruption the sanction for criminal prosecution is re quired
There is no law providing protection for Judges from criminal prosecution
252A B It is not objectionable to initiate criminal proceedings against public servant before exhausting the disciplinary proceedings and a fortiori the prosecution of a Judge for criminal misconduct before his removal by Parliament for proved misbehaviour is unobjectionable
252D E The proved misbehaviour which is the basis for removal of a Judge under clause 4 of Article 124 of the Constitu tion may also in certain cases involve an offence of crimi nal misconduct under section 51 of the Act
But that is no ground for withholding criminal prosecution till the Judge is removed by Parliament
One is the power of Parliament and the other is the jurisdiction of a criminal court
Both are mutually exclusive
251A C 31 For the purpose of section 61c of the Act the President of India the authority competent to give previous sanction for the prosecution 197 of a Judge of the Supreme Court and the High Court
32 Section 61 brings within its fold all the catego ries of public servants as defined in section 21 of the IPC Clauses a and b would cover the cases of public servants who are employed in connection with the affairs of the Union or State and are not removable from their office save by or with the sanction of the respective government
Clause c states that in the case of any other person the sanction would be of the authority competent to remove him from his office
238E F The provisions of clauses a and b of section 6 1 cover certain categories of public servants and the other  which means remaining categories are brought within the scope of clause c
Clause c is independent of and sepa rate from the preceding two clauses
The structure of the section does not permit the applicability of the rule of ejusdem generis
240A B 33 The application of the ejusdem generis rule is only to general word following words which are less general or the general word following particular and specific words of the same nature
In such a case the general word or expres sion is to be read as comprehending only things of the same kind as that designated by the preceding specific words or expressions
The general word is presumed to be restricted to the same genus as those of the particular and specific words
239F G 34 The construction which would promote the general legislative purpose underlying the provision is to be preferred to a construction which would not
247A If the literal meaning of the legislative language used would lead to results which would defeat the purpose of the Act the Court would be justified in disregarding the liter al meaning and adopt a liberal construction which effectu ates the object of the legislature
247A B SA Venkataraman vs The State  and M Narayanan vs State of Kerala   referred to
Craies on Statute Law 6th Edn
p 531 referred to
35 In view of the composition of Parliament the nature of transacting business or proceeding in each House the prohibition by Article 121 on discussion with respect to the conduct of any Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court in the discharge of his duties except 198 upon a motion for presenting an address to the President praying for his removal the Parliament cannot be the proper authority for granting sanction for the prosecution of a Judge That does not however follow that the Judges of superior Courts are entitled to be excluded from the scope of the Act
245C F 36 Section 6 requires to be liberally construed
It is not a penal provision but a measure of protection to public servants in the penal enactment
It indicates the authori ties without whose sanction a public servant cannot be prosecuted
It is sufficient that the authorities prescribed thereunder fail within the fair sense of the language of the section
247B C The expression the authority competent to remove used in section 61c is to be construed to mean also an authority without whose order or affirmation the public servant cannot be removed
The order of the President for removal of a Judge is mandatory
The motion passed by each House of Parliament with the special procedure prescribed under article 1244 will not proprio vigore operate against the Judge
It will not have the consequence of removing the Judge from the office unless it is followed by an order of the President
Clause 4 of article 124 is in the negative terms
The order of the President is sine qua non for removal of a Judge
The President alone could make that order
247C E 248C 37 The relationship of master and servant as is ordi narily understood in common law does not exist between the Judges of higher judiciary and the Government
The Judges are not bound nor do they undertake to obey any order of the Government within the scope of their duties
Indeed they are not Judges if they allow themselves to be guided by the Government in the performance of their duties
239B D Union of India vs HS Seth   referred to
38 It is not necessary that the authority competent to give sanction for prosecution or the authority competent to remove the public servant should be vertically superior in the hierarchy in which the office of the public servant exists
There is no such requirement under section 6 of the Act
The power to give sanction for prosecution can be conferred on any authority
Such authority may be of the department in which the public servant is working or an outside authority
All that is required is that the authority must be in a position to appreciate the materials collected against the public servant to judge whether the prosecution contemplated is frivolous or speculative
249B C 199 RS Nayak vs AR Antulay  distinguished
The President is not an outsider so far judiciary is concerned
He appoints the Judges of the High Court and the Supreme Court in exercise of his executive powers
249E Shamsher Singh vs State of Punjab 1975 1 SCR 365 and SP Gupta vs Union of India 1982 2 SCR 365 referred to
Parliament has no part to play in the matter of appoint ment of Judges except that the Executive is responsible to the Parliament
249G H 39 In the instant case the view taken by the High Court that no sanction for prosecution of the appellant under section 6 of the Act was necessary since he had retired from the service on the age of superannuation and was not a public servant on the date of filing the charge sheet is unassailable
The question is no longer res integra
254G H 255C SA Venkataraman vs The State   CR Bansi vs State of Maharashtra  and KS Dharmadatan vs Central Government  Ors   referred to
RS Nayak  Ors vs
AR Antulay  referred to
41 There are various protections afforded to Judges to preserve the independence of the judiciary
They have pro tection from civil liability for any act done or ordered to be done by them in discharge of their judicial duty whether or not such judicial duty is performed within the limits of their jurisdiction as provided under section 1 of 
Likewise section 77 IPC gives them protection from criminal liability for an act performed judicially
A discussion on the conduct of the Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts in the discharge of their duties shall not take place in Parliament or in the State Legislatures as envisaged by Articles 121 and 211 of the Constitution
The Supreme Court and the High Courts have been constituted as Courts of Record with the power to punish for committing contempt as laid down by Articles 129 and 215
The provides power to take civil and criminal contempt proceedings
The Executive is competent to appoint the Judges but not empowered to remove them
The power to remove is vested in Parliament by the process analogous to impeachment as envisaged by Article 124 of the Constitution
251E H 242E 200 42 Previous sanction of the competent authority as contem plated by section 6 is only to protect the honest public servants from frivolous and vexatious prosecution
The competent authority may refuse sanction for prosecution if the offence alleged has no material to support or it is frivolous or intended to harass the honest officer
But he is duty bound to grant sanction if the material collected lend credence to the offence complained of the discretion to prosecute a public servant is taken away from the prosecuting agency and is vested in the authority competent to remove the public servant
The latter would be in a better position than the prosecuting agency to assess the material collected in a dispassionate and reasonable manner and determine whether or not the sanction for prosecution deserves to be granted
237F G 238A C 43 The apprehension that the Executive being the largest litigant is likely to misuse the power to prosecute the Judges in our overlitigious society is pot unjustified or unfounded
The Act provides certain safeguards like section 6 and trial by the court which is independent of the Executive
But these safeguards may not be adequate
Any complaint against a Judge and its investigation by the CBI if given publicity will have a far reaching impact on the Judge and the litigant public
The need therefore is a judicious use of taking action under the Act
Care should be taken that honest and fearless Judges are not harassed
They should be protected
252G H 253A C 51 There is no need for a separate legislation for the Judges
The Act is not basically defective in its applica tion to judiciary
All that is required is to lay down certain guidelines lest the Act may be misused
This Court being the ultimate guardian of rights of people and inde pendence of the judiciary will not deny itself the opportu nity to lay down such guidelines
This Court is not a Court of limited jurisdiction of only dispute settling
Almost from the beginning this Court has been a law maker albiet interstitial  law maker
Indeed the Court s role today is much more
It is expanding beyond dispute settling and interstitial law making
It is a problem solver in the nebulous areas
253E G 52 The Chief Justice of India is a participatory func tionary in the matter of appointment of Judges of the Su preme Court and the High Courts he is to be consulted by the President of India even for transfer of a Judge from one High Court to another and question of age of a Judge of a High Court shall be decided by the President after consult ing him
The Chief Justice of India being the head of the Judiciary is primarily concerned with the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary
Hence it is necessary that the Chief Justice of India is not 203 either from the evidence of the prosecution andor evidence from the defence
259F G 83 Parliament is competent to place the burden on certain aspects on the accused as well and particularly in matters especially within his knowledge
section 106 of the Evidence Act
Adroitly the prosecution cannot in the very nature of things be expected to know the affairs of a public servant found in possession of resources of property disproportionate to his known sources of income
It is for him to explain
Such a statute placing burden on the accused cannot be regarded as unreasonable unjust or unfair
Nor can it be regarded as contrary to Article 21 of the Consti tution
The principle that the burden of proof is always on the prosecution and never shifts to the accused is not a universal rule to be followed in every case
The principle is applied only in the absence of statutory provision to the contrary
260A C Woolmington vs Director of Public Prosecution 1935 A C 462 CSD Swamy vs The State   Surajpal Singh vs The State of UP   Sajjan Singh vs The State of Punjab   Rig vs Hunt and Maharashtra vs KKS Ramas wamy   referred to
State of Maharashtra vs Wasudeo Ramchandra Kaidalwar   referred to
91 To state that after collection of all material the investigating officer must give an opportunity to the ac cused and call upon him to account for the excess of the assets over the known sources of income and then decide whether the accounting is satisfactory or not would be elevating him to the position of an enquiry officer or a judge
He is not holding an enquiry against the conduct of the public servant or determining the disputed issues re garding the disproportionality between the assets and the income of the accused
He just collects material from all sides and prepares a report which he files in the Court as a chargesheet
The investigating officer is only required to collect material to find out whether the offence alleged appears to have been committed
In the course of the inves tigation he may examine the accused
Indeed fair investi gation requires that the accused should not be kept in darkness
He should be taken into confidence if he is will ing to cooperate
261B E 101 The charge sheet is nothing but a final report of the police officer under section 1732 of the Cr
PC Section 1732 provides that on 204 completion of the investigation the police officer investi gating into a cognizable Offence shall submit a report which must be in the form prescribed by the State Govern ment
The statutory requirement of the report under section 1732 would be complied with if the various details pre scribed therein are included in the report and it accompa nies all the documents and statements of witnesses as re quired by section 1725 Cr
PC Nothing more need be stated in the report of the investigating officer
It is also not necessary that all the details of the offence must be stat ed
The details of the offence are required to be proved to bring home the guilt of the accused at a later stage in the course of the trial of the case by adducing acceptable evidence
261E H 262A C Satya Narain Musadi and Ors
vs State of Bihar  referred to
102 In the instant case the charge sheet contained all the requirements of section 1732 Cr
It stated that the investigation showed that between 151969 and 2421976 the appellant had been in possession of the pecuniary resources and property in his own name and in the names of his wife and two sons which were disproportionate to the known sources of income over the same period and he cannot satis factorily account for such disproportionate pecuniary re sources and property
The details of properties and pecuni ary resources of the appellant also were set out in clear terms
No more was required to be stated in the charge sheet
It was fully in accordance with the terms of section 1732 Cr
PC and clause e ors
51e of the Act
262C E 11
The society s demand for honesty in a Judge is exacting and absolute
The standards of judicial behaviour both on and off the Bench are normally extremely high
For a judge to deviate from such standards of honesty and impar tiality is to betray the trust reposed on him
No excuse or no legal relativity can condone such betrayal
From the standpoint of justice the size of the bribe or scope of corruption cannot be the scale for measuring a judge s dishonour
A single dishonest judge not only dishonours himself and disgraces his office but jeopardises the integ rity of the entire judicial system
262F H 263A A judicial scandal has always been regarded as far more deplorable than a scandal involving either the Executive or a member of the Legislature
The slightest hint of irregu larity or impropriety in the Court is a cause for great anxiety and alarm
263A B Per Sharma J 1
The expression public servant used in the Prevention of 205 Corruption Act 1947 is undoubtedly wide enough to denote every Judge including the Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court 263D 21 Section 2 of the Act adopts the definition of public servant as given in section 21 IPC which includes Every Judge
If the legislature had intended to exclude Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court from the field of section 5 of the Act it could have said so in unambigu ous terms instead of adopting the wide meaning of the ex pression public servant as given in the Indian Penal Code
266E F 22 No person is above the law
In a proceeding under Article 124 of the Constitution a Judge can merely be removed from his office
He cannot be convicted and pun ished
In a case where there is a positive finding recorded in such a proceeding against the Judge and on that ground he is removed from his office it cannot be said that he will escape the criminal liability
In a civilised society the law cannot be assumed to be leading to such disturbing results
265G 266A B 23 It is not safe to assume that the Prevention of Corruption Act intended to make in its application any discrimination between the lower and the higher judiciary
There cannot be any rational ground on the basis of which a member of a higher judiciary may be allowed to escape prose cution while in identical circumstances a member of the subordinate judiciary is tried and convicted
Such an inter pretation of the Act will militate against its constitution al validity and should not therefore be preferred
265C E 31 The power to remove a High Court Judge from his office does exist and has to be exercised in appropriate circumstances according to the provisions of Article 24 of the Constitution
It cannot therefore be said that previous sanction for his prosecution cannot be made available
266D E 32 Section 61c of the Act speaks of the authority competent to remove the public servant from his office
An answer in the negative to the question as to whether there is some authority competent to remove a Judge of a High Court will be inconsistent with Article 124 clauses 4 and 5 read with Article 218 of the Constitution
Although more than one person are involved in the process it is not permissible to say that no authority exists for the purpose of exercising the power to remove a High Court Judge from his office
264A C As to who is precisely the authority in this regard is a matter 206 which does not arise in the instant case but the vital question whether such an authority exists at all must be answered in the affirmative
264C D 41 If the President is held to be the appropriate authority to grant the sanction without reference to the Parliament he will be bound by the advice he receives from the Council of Ministers
This will seriously jeopardise the independence of judiciary which is undoubtedly a basic feature of the Constitution
267D E 42 Since the Constitution itself has considered it adequate in the matter of dealing with serious accusations against the Judges by incorporating the provisions of clauses 4 and 5 in Article 124 they must be treated to be appropriate and suitable and should be resorted to in the matter of prosecution also in view of the Parliament enacting section 6 of the Act in the language which attracts the constitutional provisions
268B C 43 It is true that the grant of sanction will be de layed until the accusation is examined according to the law enacted under Clause 5 of Article 124 but once that stage is over and a finding is recorded against the Judge there should not be any hitch in combining the two matters the removal and the grant of sanction which are obviously inter twined for getting clearance from Parliament
268E H 269A 51 Protection to the public servant in general is provided under Article 311 of the Constitution and the interest of the subordinate judiciary is further taken care of by the High Courts and this alongwith the provisions regarding previous sanction shields them from unjustified prosecution
Similarly protection is available to the High Court and Supreme Court Judges through the provisions of clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 of the Constitution
So far this aspect is concerned the two categories of Judges High Court and Supreme Court Judges on the one hand and the rest on the other have not been treated by the law differently
265C E 52 The protection to the independence of the Judiciary is in section 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 which by providing for previous sanction of the authority empowered to remove the Judge leads to Article 124 of the Constitution
268A B 61 Taking into consideration the independence of Judi ciary as envisaged by the Constitution if the President of India is treated as the sanctioning authority in the case of a Judge and the Chief Justice of 207 India is consulted in the matter and steps are taken in accordance with his advice and the executive follows this rule strictly a further protection from harassment of the Judges is uncalled for and unjustified criminal prosecution shall be not made available
But such a binding direction cannot be issued by this Court on the basis of the provi sions of the Constitution and the Act
The approval of the Chief Justice of India can be introduced as a condition for prosecution only by the Parliament and not by this Court
If the Court starts supplementing the law as it stands now it will be encroaching upon the legislative field
266G H 267A B F H 268A 7
Section 51e does not contemplate a notice to be served on the accused
If the prosecuting authority after making a suitable enquiry by taking into account the rele vant documents and questioning relevant persons forms the opinion that the accused cannot satisfactorily account for the accumulation of disproportionate wealth in his posses sion the section is attracted
269B D 8
In the instant case the records clearly indicate that after duly taking all the appropriate steps it was stated that the assets found in the possession of the appel lant in his own name and in the names of his wife and two sons were disproportionate to his known sources of income during the relevant period and for which he cannot satis factorily account
269D E Per Verma J dissenting 11 A Judge or Chief justice of a High Court is a Con stitutional functionary even though he holds a public office and in that sense he may be included in the wide definition of a public servant 
However the holder of an office who may be a public servant according to the wide definition of the expression in the prevention of corruption Act but whose category for grant of sanction for prosecu tion is not envisaged by section 6 is outside the purview of the Act not intended to be covered by the Act
289F 286D E 12 Section 61c of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 is inapplicable to a Judge of a High Court or the Supreme Court and such constitutional functionaries do not fall within the purview of the Act
296B 13 Previous sanction under section 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 is a condition precedent for taking cognizance of an offence punishable under the Act of a public servant who is prosecuted during 208 his continuance in the office
The public servant failing within the purview of the Act must invariably fail within one of the three clauses in section 61
If the holder of an office even though a public servant according to the defi nition in the Act does not fail within any of the clauses a b or c of sub section 1 he must be deemed to be outside the purview of the Act since this special enactment was not enacted to cover that category of public servants in spite of the wide definition of public servant  in the Act
286A B 14 Section 61c speaks of authority competent to remove  which plainly indicates the substantive competence of the authority to remove not merely the procedural or formal part of it
The authority itself should be competent to remove or the one to decide the question of removal and not one which merely obeys or implements the decision of some other authority
It contemplates that the removing authority should have the competence to take a decision on the material placed before it for the purpose of deciding whether the public servant against whom sanction is sought has been prima facie guilty of abuse of his office so that there is occasion to bring about cessation of interrelation between the office and abuse by the holder of the office by his removal therefrom
291A C RS Nayak vs
AR Antulay  referred to
15 The competent sanctioning authority envisaged by section 6 1 c is a vertical superior in the hierarchy having some power of superintendence over the functioning of the public servant
Where no such relationship exists in the absence of any vertical hierarchy and the holder of the public office is a constitutional functionary not subject to power of superintendence of any superior section 6 can have no application by virtue of the scheme engrafted therein
291C D 16 Construction of section 61c of the Act treating the President as the competent authority to remove a High Court Judge would conflict with the provisions enacted in clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 read with Article 218 of the Constitution
Such a construction has to be avoided
295B C 17 The Prevention of Corruption Act is wholly workable in its existing form for the public servants within its purview and there is no impediment in its applicability to the large number of public servants who have been dealt with thereunder ever since its enactment
274A 209 18 In view of the special provisions enacted in clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 read with Article 218 of the Constitution non application of section 61 of the Preven tion of Corruption Act 1947 to the Constitutional function aries such as Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court would result only in the failure of the attempt to bring them within the purview of the Act while the Act would continue to apply to the public servants in general who fail within the scheme of section 6 of the Act 1or the pur pose of grant of previous sanction for prosecution which is a condition precedent for cognizance of an offence punisha ble under that Act
295A E 21 The construction made of the provisions of the Act must also fit in within the scheme of clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 read with Article 218 of the Constitution in order to present a harmonious scheme
294C B 22 There can be no doubt that the expression misbeha viour  is of wide import and includes within its ambit criminal miscondust as defined in sub section 1 of section 5 of the Act as also lesser misconduct of a Judge falling short of criminal misconduct
The special law envisaged by Article 1245 for dealing with the misbehaviour of a Judge covers the field of investigation  and proof  of the misbeha viour and the only punishment provided is by Article 1244 of removal from office
294D E 23 Article 1245 of the Constitution is wide enough to include within its ambit every conduct of a Judge amounting to misbehaviour including criminal misconduct and prescribes the procedure for investigation and proof thereof
294E 24 Even for the procedure for investigation into any misbehaviour of a Judge as well as its proof a law enacted by the Parliament under Article 1245 is envisaged in the constitutional scheme
Such a law in the form of the and the Rules framed thereunder has been enacted
These provisions were made in the Constitution and the law thereunder enacted when the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 was in the statute book
294F G 25 The prior enactment and existence of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 at the time when clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 of the Constitution were framed does indi cate the constitutional scheme that a separate parliamentary law to deal with the investigation and proof of misbehaviour of a Judge was clearly contemplated by providing a special machinery for this category of constitutional func 210 tionaries notwithstanding the general law available and applicable to the public servants in general which included the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947
294G H 295A 26 In view of the special provisions in the form of clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124 and Article 218 of the Constitution and the special enactment by the Parliament under Article 124 5 provided in the Constitutional scheme for Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court it cannot be said that they are governed by the general provi sions in addition to these special provisions enacted only for them
The need for these special provisions is a clear pointer in the direction of inapplicability to them of the general provisions applicable to the public servants holding other public offices not as constitutional functionaries
295A B 27 The view that Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court are outside the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act fits in with the constitutional scheme and is also in harmony with the several nuances of the entire existing law relating to the superior Judges while the contrary view fouls with it at several junctures and leaves many gaping holes which cannot be filled by judicial exer cise
303F G 28 The Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 as amended by the 1964 amendment is inapplicable to Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court
304A  84 referred to
31 There is practical difficulty in applying criminal misconduct defined in clause e of sub section 1 of section 5 of the Act to a Judge of a High Court or the Supreme Court
296C 32 The words in clause e of section 5 1 of the Act have to be given some meaning which would place the burden on the prosecution howsoever light to make out a prima facie case for obtaining sanction of the competent authority under section 6 of the Act and this can be done only if it is read as a part of the scheme under which the public servant is required to furnish particulars of his assets with reference to which the disproportion and his inability to satisfactorily ac count can be inferred
297A B 33 While according sanction to prosecute under section 6 of the Act the competent authority has to satisfy itself about the public servant s inability to satisfactorily account for possession of disproportionate assets
The competent author ity before granting sanction has to apply 211 its mind and be satisfied about the existence of a prima facie case for prosecution of the public servant on the basis of the material placed before it
In order to form an objective opinion the competent authority must have before it the version of the public servant on the basis of which the conclusion can be reached whether it amounts to satis factory account or not
296E F 34 The rules applicable to the public servants in general regulating their conduct require them to furnish periodical information of their assets which form a part of their service record
In the case of such public servants whenever sanction to prosecute is sought under section 6 the competent authority can form the requisite opinion on the basis of the available material including the service record of the public servant to code to the conclusion whether the offence under clause e of section 5 1 of possession of dis proportionate assets which the public servant cannot satis factorily account is made outprima facie
296F G 297C D 35 In the case of Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court there is no requirement under any provision of furnishing particulars of their assets so as to provide a record thereof with reference to which such an opinion can be formed and there is no vertical superior with legal authority enabling obtaining of information from the con cerned Judge
This too is a pointer in the direction that even after the 1964 amendment of the Act the Legislature did not intend to include Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court within the purview of the enactment
297D F 41 If the Act is applicable to Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court it is obvious that the same must apply also to the Chief Justice of India the Comptrol ler and Auditor General and the Chief Election Commissioner
Incongruous results would follow in such an event
297F G 42 If the involvement of the Chief Justice of India is necessary even for commencing the investigation into the offence and the President while granting the sanction under section 61c is also assumed to act on the advice of the Chief Justice of India and if it is permissible to do so in the absence of any such provision in the Act the problem would arise where such action is contemplated against the Chief Justice of India himself
297G H 298A 43 Any provision which cannot apply to the Chief Justice of 212 India cannot apply to the Judges of the Supreme Court or for that matter even to the High Court Judges since the Chief Justice of India is not a vertical superior of any of them there being no such vertical hierarchy and the Chief Justice of India having no power of superintendence even over the High Court Judges much less the Supreme Court Judges
298A B 44 In the case of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Chief Election Commissioner the situation would be more piquant
The Chief Justice of India cannot be involved in the process relating to them and there is none else to fill that role in that situation
The Constitution while providing that their position would be akin to that of a Judge of the Supreme Court could not have intended to place them on a pedestal higher than that of a Supreme Court Judge
If the Act was intended to apply to these constitu tional functionaries it could not have been enacted leaving such gaping holes which are incapable of being plugged to present a comprehensive scheme for this purpose
298C E 51 The need for sanction under section 6 of the Act for prosecution of the holder of a public office indicates the ambit and scope of the enactment for deciding whether the holder of a public office falls within the purview of the enactment
No sanction for prosecution under section 6 is re quired after the public servant ceases to hold office but it does not imply that every holder of a public office after ceasing to hold that office is within the purview of the enactment even though during the tenure in office only those public servants are within its ambit in whose case sanction under section 6 must be obtained
298F H 299A 52 The ambit of the enactment is to be determined on the basis of the public office held by the public servant which office is alleged to have been abused during the tenure for committing the offence of criminal misconduct under the Act and it is not the fact of continuance in that office or ceasing to hold it which decides the ambit of the enactment
If the holder of a public office during his tenure in office cannot be prosecuted without sanction under section 6 then no sanction for his prosecution after ceasing to hold the office may be necessary but his prosecution is made because while in office he could be prosecuted with the previous sanction under section 6
Conversely if the holder of a public office while continuing in that office could not be prosecuted under this Act on account of inapplicability of section 6 and therefore the non feasibility of previous sanc tion for prosecution under section 6 then on his ceasing to hold 213 53 It is for the purpose of construing the provisions of the enactment and determining the scope and ambit thereof and for deciding whether the holder of a public office comes within the purview of the enactment that the feasibility of previous sanction for prosecution and applicability of section 6 of the Act is important since it holds the key which unlocks the true vistas of the enactment
299D E 54 The concept of the sanction for prosecution by a superior is so inextricably woven into the fabric of the enactment that the pattern is incomplete without it
The clear legislative intent is that the enactment applies only to those in whose case sanction of this kind is contemplated and those to whom the provision of sanction cannot squarely apply are outside its ambit
The provision for sanction is like the keystone in the march of the enactment
Remove the keystone of sanction and the arch crumbles
299E G RS Nayak vs AR A ntulay  dis tinguished
61 The higher judiciary was treated differently in the Constitution indicating the great care and attention be stowed in prescribing the machinery for making the appoint ments
It was expected that any deviation from the path of rectitude at that level would be a rare phenomenon and for the exceptional situation the provision of removal in ac cordance with clause 4 of Article 124 was made the diffi culty in adopting that course being itself indicative of the rarity with which it was expected to be invoked
It appears that for a rare aberrant at that level unless the Judge resigned when faced with such a situation removal from office in accordance with Article 1244 was envisaged as the only legal sanction
If this was the expectation of the framers of the Constitution and their vision of the moral fibre in the higher echelons of the judiciary in free India there is nothing surprising in the omission to bring them within the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 or absence of a similar legislation for them alone
This position continued even during the deliberations of the Santham Committee which clearly mentioned in ics Report submitted in 1964 that it has considered the judiciary outside the ambit for its deliberations
Clearly it was expected that the higher judiciary Whose word would be final in the interpretation of all laws including the Constitu tion will be comprised of men leading in the spirit of self sacrifice concerned more with their obligations then rights so that there would be no occasion for any one else to sit in judgment over them
305H 306A D 62 The fact that the Parliament did not enact any other law for 214 the investigation into allegations of corruption against a superior Judge and for his trial and punishment for that offence and rest content merely with enacting the  to provide for the procedure for remov al of a Judge under Article 124 4 is a clear pointer in the direction that the Parliament has not as yet considered it expedient to enact any such law for the trial and punish ment on the charge of corruption of a superior Judge except by his removal from office in the manner prescribed
The provisions of the  provide the procedure for investigation and proof of an allegation of corruption against a superior Judge and if the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 is held applicable to them then there would be two separate procedures under these two enactments providing for investigation into the same charge
This anomaly and incongruity cannot be attributed to a conscious act of the Parliament while enacting  after the 1964 amendment in the Prevention of Corruption Act
301D F 71 The constitutional functionaries namely Judges of High Courts Judges of the Supreme Court the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Chief Election Commissioner were never intended to fall within the ambit of the Act as ini tially enacted in 1947 when provisions similar to Articles 1244 and 5 of the Constitution were present in the Government of India Act 1935 nor was any such attempt made by amendment of the Prevention of Corruption Act in 1964 and the same position continues in the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988
300A B 72 If there is now a felt need to provide for such a situation the remedy lies in suitable parliamentary legis lation for the purpose preserving the independence of judi ciary free from likely executive influence while providing a proper and adequate machinery for investigation into allega tions of corruption against such constitutional function aries and for their trial and punishment after the investi gation
The remedy is not to extend the existing law and make it workable by reading into it certain guidelines for which there is no basis in it sing the Act was not intended to apply to them
300B C 73 The test of applicability of the existing law would be the legal sanction and justiciability of the proposed guidelines without which it is unworkable in the case of such persons
In fact the very need to read the proposed guidelines in the existing law by implication is a clear indication that the law as it exists does not apply to them
Making the law applicable with the aid of the suggested guidelines is not in the domain of judicial craftsmanship but a naked usurpation of legislative power in a virgin field
300C D 215 81 Laying down guidelines to be implicitly obeyed if they find no place in the existing enactment and to bring the superior Judges within the purview of the existing law on that basis would amount to enacting a new law outside the scope of the existing law and not merely construing it by supplying the deficiencies to make it workable for achieving the object of its enactment
273E F SP Sampath Kumar vs Union of India   distinguished
82 In case a legislation like the Prevention of Corrup tion Act for superior Judges also is considered necessary at this point of time the Parliament can perform its function by enacting suitable legislation it being a virgin field of legislation
274B 83 There is no material to indicate that corruption in judiciary was a mischief to be cured when the Prevention of Corruption Act was enacted
For this reason the desirabili ty now expressed of having such a law cannot be an aid to construction of the existing law to widen its ambit and bring these constitutional functionaries within it
273B C 84 Judicial activism can supply the deficiencies and fill gaps in an already existing structure found deficient in some ways but it must stop sort of building a new edi fice where there is none
273D 85 If it is considered that the situation has altered requiring scrutiny of the conduct of even Judges at the highest level and that it is a matter for the Parliament to decide then the remedy lies in enacting suitable legisla tion for that purpose providing for safeguards to ensure independence of judiciary since the existing law does not provide for that situation
306D E 86 Any attempt to bring the Judges of the High Courts and the supreme Court within the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act by a seemingly constructional exercise of the enactment appears to be an exercise to fit a square peg in a round hole when the two were never intended to match
306E F