Criminal Procedure Code, 1973
Section 197—Protection of sanction—Entitlement—Nationalized Bank Employee—Although a person working in a Nationalised Bank is a public servant, yet provisions of Section 197 of the CrPC would not be attracted at all as Section 197 of the Code is attracted only in cases where the public servant is such who is not removable from his service save by or with the sanction of the Government—Appellant  is not holding a post where he could not be removed from service except by or with the sanction of the Government—Even if it is alleged that the appellant is a public servant, still the provisions of Section 197 of the CrPC are not attracted at all.
Held : The banking sector being governed by the Reserve Bank of India and considered as a limb of the State under Article 12 of the Constitution and also by virtue of Section 46A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the appellant herein is deemed to be a “public servant’ for the purpose of provisions under the PC Act, 1988. However, the same cannot be extended to the IPC. Assuming for a moment that the appellant herein should be considered as a “public servant” for the IPC sanction also, the protection available under Section 197 of the CrPC is not available to the appellant herein since, the conditions in built under Section 197 of the CrPC are not fulfilled.
[Para 45 & 49]
Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
Section 19—Sanction for prosecution—Requirement—Contention that as sanction under Section 19 of the PC Act has not been granted, the appellant cannot not be prosecuted for the offences under the IPC alone and he should be discharged from the criminal proceedings—Unmerited—Offences under the IPC and offences under the PC Act are different and distinct—Although the appellant has been discharged from offences punishable under the PC Act yet for the IPC offences, he can be proceeded further in accordance with law.
[Paras 51 to 58]