Holding

The Central Reserve Police Force squarely falls within the expression "Armed Forces of the Union" as used in sub‑section (2) of section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Summary

Akhlsh Prasad, a member of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), was charged under IPC sections 307, 326 and 324 for allegedly firing on two persons on 30 May 1978. He sought to quash the proceedings, arguing that the offences were committed while he was acting in the discharge of his official duty as a member of the "Armed Forces of the Union", and therefore required prior sanction under section 197(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The Gauhati High Court dismissed his application. The Supreme Court examined whether the CRPF falls within the expression "Armed Forces of the Union" for the purpose of section 197(2) and held that, by virtue of the CRPF Act and entry 2 of List I of the Seventh Schedule, the CRPF is indeed an armed force of the Union. The Court left open the question of whether the specific offences were committed in the discharge of official duty, but ordered the trial to be transferred to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gauhati, and directed protection for the appellant. The appeal was allowed.

Issues considered

Whether the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is covered by the expression "Armed Forces of the Union" in section 197(2) of the CrPC.
Whether the offences alleged against the appellant were committed while he was acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty.

Legislation cited

Central Reserve Police Force Act, 1949s. 3(1)
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 129, s. 130, s. 131, s. 132, s. 132(3)(a), s. 197(2), s. 407, s. 482
Constitution of Indias. Seventh Schedule, Entry 2

Subjects

CRPFArmed Forces of the UnionSection 197 CrPCJurisdictionTransfer of trialProtection of accused

Judgment

789

AKHILESH PRASAD A

v.
UNION TERRITORY OF MIZORAM
February 11, 1981
• B
• [A. D. KosHAL AND A. N. SEN, JJ.J

•
Code of Criminal Procedure, section 197(2)-Whether Central Reserve Po!ice
Force falls within the expression "Armed Forces of the Union" as used thereat-
Section 3(I) of the Central Reserve Police Force Act and Entry 2 in List I of
the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution.
c
Allowing the appeal, the Court

HEID ' l : I. The Central Reserve Police Force squarely falls within the
expression "Armed Forces of the Union" as used in sub""5ection (2) of section
197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. [794 F]

1 : 2. The expression must be given its ordinary meaning which would cer~ D
tainly not be limited to the inclusion of only the military, naval and air-forces
of the Union as defined in clause (a) of sub-section (3) of section 132 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure. [793 F-GJ

I : 3. Entry 2 in List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution clearly
envisages armed forces other than the three well known forces of the State,
namely, the naval, military and air-forces. [793 H, 794 A-BJ E
1 : 4. Sub-section (I) of section 3 of the Centrai Reserve Police Force Act
itself declares in no uncertain terms that the Central Reserve Police Force is an
armed force of the Central Government which is the same thing as saying that it
is a part of the "Armed Forces of the Union". [794 DJ

1 : 5. Just because the Central Reserve Police Force is a reserve force it doea F
not follow that it is not a regularly operating force. (794 E-F]

1. The question whether the offences alleged to have been committed by the
appellant in the instant case, are or are not such as may be said to have been
committed while he woo acting or purporting to act in the discharge of bis offi-
cial dutly is to be left over. [794 GJ
Pancham Lal v. Dadan Singh, [1979J Criminal Law Journal 1018; S. B. Saha G
v. M. S. Kochar, [1980] 1 SCR 111-1979 Criminal Law Journal 1367, ap-
proved and followed.

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal No. 439
• of 1980. H
\
Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order dated
20-2-1980 of the Gauhati High Court in Cr. Revision No. 173/78.
790 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1981] 2 S.C.R.

A Ii. K. Puri for the Appellant.
N. Nettar and Miss A. Subhashini for the Respondent.
P. A. Francis, K. S. Gurumurthy and R. N. Poddar for the Inter-
vener.
B The Judgment of the Court was delivered by •
•
KosHAL, J. This is an appeal by special leave against a judgment
dated the 20th February, 1980, of a learned Single Judge of the
Gauhati High Court dismissing an application made by the appellant
under sections 482 and 407 of the Code of Criminal Procedure pray-
c ing that the proceedings pending in the Court of the Assistant District
Magistrate, Aizawl which have been initiated through a police report
against the appellant with a prayer that he be punished for offences
under sections 307, 326 and 324 of the Indian Penal Code alleged
to have been committed by him on the 30th May, 1978, be quashed
or, in the alternative, that the proceedings be transferred to a compe-
D
tent court beyond the territory of Mizoram.

2. The relevant facts are not in dispute and may be stated briefly.
On the 30th May, 1978, a case was registered at the Vairengte Police
Station at the instance of one Thanugura alleging that men of the
E
Central Reserve Police Force (hereinafter referred to as CRPF), of
which the appellant is a member had fired shots at handyman Thara
and a driver the two of whom received injuries in the arm and thigh
respectively. After investigation the police submitted a report under
section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against the appellant
to the Assistant District Magistrate Aizawl.
F
3. Aggrieved by the commencement of proceedings against him
in the Court of the Assistant District Magistrate, the appellant sought
redress from the High Court through the application which has been
dismissed by the impugned order. The prayer for quashing the pro-
ceedings contained in the application was based on various grounds
G only one of which has now been canvassed before us and tha,t is that
the offences attributed to the appellant are alleged to have been com-
mitted by him while he was acting or purporting to act in the discharge
of his official duty as a member of the Armed Forces of the Union r"
and that in view of the provisions of sulrsection 2 of section 197 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as the Cr.P.C.)
H no Court had the jurisdiction to take cognizance of those offences.
The prayer made in the alternative was supported by various assertions
indicative of surcharged atmosRhere in Mizoram which had resulted in
AKHILESH PRASAD v. UNION (Koshal, J.) 791

the entire population becoming hostile to the appellant so that it A
would not at all be safe for him to attend the Court at Aizawl.
,,
4. The learned Single Judge noted the provisions of sub-section (2)
of section 197 of Cr. P.C. which runs thus :

• "No Court shall take cognizance of any offence alleged B
to have been committed by any member of the Armed
Forces of the Union while acting or purporting to act in the
discharge of his official duty, except with the previous sanc-
tion of the Central G<Wernment."

He correctly analysed the section while holding that it would C
operate only if
( 1) the concerned accused was a member of the "Armed
Forces of the Union" and
(2) the o!lence attributed to him was alleged to have
been committed while he was acting or purporting to D
act in the discharge of his official duty.

The learned Judge then proceeded to find out the meaning of the
expression "Armed Forces of the Union" as occurring in the sub-
section, with reference to various provisions of the Army Act, of the
E
Cr. P.C. the Central Reserve Police Force Act, 1949 (hereinafter
referred to as the CRPF Act) and of entry 2 in List I of the Seventh
Schedule to the Constitution of India, and thereafter concluded :
"If the expression 'Armed Forces' of the Union is under-
stood as including any other armed forces of the Union,
then the C.R.P.F. may be included therein, and not other- F
wise. Considering the fact that the C.R.P.F. is a Reserve
Police Force, the conventional interpretation to mean only
the regular armed forces of the Union may be acceptable.
Members of the Police Force are holders of civil posts ....
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Jn AIR 1965 All 236 (238), it G
was held that the Armed Forces of the Union mean the
regular Army, Navy and Air Force or any part of any one
or more of them as defined in the Army Act, and it could
never have meant the members of the National Cadet Corps
who are not part of the regular forces of the Union."
H
The learned Judge then went on to decide the question as to whether
the appellant was alleged to have committed the offences covered by
792 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1981] 2 S.C.R.

A the proceedings against him while acting or purporting to act in the
discharge of his official duty and decided it in the negative with the
observations :
{

"The alleged occurrence is not such as may be said to
have been directly and reasonably connected with perform-
B ance of his official duty. It was neither in his official
capacity nor under colour of his office. It does not, there- ,•
fore, appear to have been while acting or purporting to act
in the discharge of his official duty. Active duty, as defined

c
in the Act, means the duty to restore and preserve order
in any local area in the event of any disturbance therein."

However, the learned Judge left the question open with the
I--
remarks :
"The question of necessity of sanction has to be deter-
mined from stage to stage as the case progresses ( 1979
0 Crl. L.J. 1018) ('). It may be considered at any stage of
the proceeding and while considering, it is not necessary for
the Court to confine itself to the allegations in the com-
plaint, and the court can take into consideration all the
materials on the record at the time the question is raised
(1979 Cr!. L.J. 1367) .(') More materials may come up
E for consideration by the trial court and it will be inoppor-
tune to decide the question at this stage."

On the question of transfer the views of the learned Single Judge
were:
"The petitioner has not alleged any thing directly against
the Court itself. His apprehension is a derivative one from
the activities of the Drivers' Union and the meetings and
publicity given to the incident. The Mizoram
Government in its affidavit have stated that the Qflicer in
seisin of the case is a judicial officer without any adminis-
G
trative functions, and is not likely to be influenced by
these events. The contemporary events of publicity, meet-
ings and processions are all past, and may not have be-
numbing effects in future. At this stage, nothing having
been alleged against the particular court, it is not reasonable
on the part of the petitioner to apprehend that he will not
H
(1) POJ1Cham Lal v. Dadan Singh.
(2) S.B. Saha v. M.S. Kochar [1980] l S,C.R. 111
AKHILESH PRASAD v. UNION (Koshal, J.) 793

receive a fair trial. The judicial administration in Mizornm A
has to run according to law despite such events. If a case
is transferred on the alleged grounds, there may be no end
to such transfers. That may cast reflection on the judiciary.
The other difficulty, namely, that the Lushai Hills
Autonomous District (Administration of Justice) Rules,
B
• 1953, which applies in Mizoram is not applicable elsewhere
is also to be considered. There will also be difficulties of
examining witnesses in Mizo language at other places. Con-
sidering the above facts, it will not be desirable to transfer

• the case at this stage. The Government of Mizoram will
take appropriate measures for safety of the petitioner and
his witnesses, and for conduct of the case in a befitting
atmosphere."

It was in the above premises that the learned Single Judge dis-
c

missed the appellant's application on both counts.
D
5. The first question which falls for determination by us is as
to whether the appellant was a member of the "Armed Forces of
th~ Union" within the meaning of that expression as occurring in
sub-secticn (2) of section 197 of the Cr. P.C. The expression
"Armed Forces'· has been defined in clause (a) of sub-section (3) of
section 132, Cr. P .C. as meaning the military, naval and air forces, F.
operating as land forces and as including any other armed forces of
the Union so operating. That definition however, is limited in its
application, by the express language of that clause itself, to the
interpretation of sections 129 to 132 of the Cr. P.C. and the argu-
ment, therefore, advanced in support of the impugned judgment
that that definition will not govern the interpretation of section 197 p
cannot be said to lack plausibility. Nor has it been shown to us
that the expression "Armed Forces of the Union" as occurring in
sub-section (2) of section 197, Cr. P.C. is governed by a definition
occurring elsewhere either in the Cr. P.C. or in any other statute.
In this situation it must be given its ordinary meaning which, it
appears to us, would certainly not be limited to the inclusion of only G
the milltary, naval and air forces of the union. In this connection a
reference to the contents of entry 2 in List I of the Seventh Schedule
to the Constitution of India may be made with advantage.

They are;
H
"Naval, military and air forces; any other armed forces
of the Union...
794 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1981] 2 S.C.R.

.\ The entry clearly envisages armed forces other than the three well
known force> of the State, namely the naval, military and air forces.
All tha'. remains to be done, therefore, is to find out answers to tbe
following two questions : •
(a) Is the C.R.P.F. a force?
B (b) If question (aJ is answered in the affirmative, •
whether C.R.P.F. is an armed force?

In our upinion the answer to both tbe questions must be given in the
affirmative in view of the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 3
of the CRPF Act which unfortunately do not appear to have been
C brougbt to the notice of !he learned Single Judge. That sub-section
reads t!:;i;s :
"There shcJi continue to be an armed force maintained
by the Central Government and called the Central Reserve
Police Force."
0 The sub-section itself declares in no uncertain terms that tbe
CRPF is an armed force of the Central Government which is tbe same
thing as saying tbat it is a part of the "Armed Forces of tbe Union".
We may make it clear, however, that even if tbe provisions just above
extracted were not available our answer to the two questions would
still be in the affirmative. The reason given by tbe learned Single
Judge for holding a contrary opinion, namely, that tbe force was "only
a reserve force and not a regular force" by which expression he appears
to mean that it was not a continually operating force does not com-
mend our concurrence. Just because tbe CRPF is a reserve force
it does not follow tbat it is not a regularly operating force and no
F provision of the CRPF Act has been pointed out to us such as may
lend support to a contrary view.
5. We hold !bat tbe CRPF squarely falls within the expression ' -
"Armed Forces of the Union" as used in sub-section (2) of section
197 of the Cr.P.C.
G 6. We leave open the question whether the offences alleged to
have been committed by the appellant are or are not such as may
be said to have been committed while he was acting or purporting
to act in the discharge of his official duty. This course we follow in f'

view of the exposition of law contained in that paragraph quoted by
us from tbe impugned judgment which makes a reference to 1979
H Criminal Law Journal, 1018 and 1979 Criminal Law Jonrnal 1367, 't
which exposition is not only correct according to learned counsel for
all parties before us but al§.o has our full approval
AKHILESH PRASAD V. UNION (Koshal, J.) 795

7. Learned counsel for the parties are also agreed that the case A
against the appellant be transferred to the Court of a Magistrate
functioning at Gauhati. We consider the proposal to be conducive
to a fair trial and, accepting it, transfer the proceeilings to the Court
of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gauhati. We further direct that the
State of Assam and the CRPF shall afford full protection to the life
• and liberty of the appellant. B

S.R. Appeal allowed.

'