218. Prosecution of Judges and public servants.
(1) When any person who is or was a Judge or Magistrate or a public servant not removable from his office save by or with the sanction of the Government is accused of any offence alleged to have been committed by him while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty, no Court shall take cognizance of such offence except with the previous sanction—
- in the case of a person who is employed, or as the case may be, was at the time of commission of the alleged offence employed, in connection with the affairs of the Union, of the Central Government;
- in the case of a person who is employed, or as the case may be, was at the time of commission of the alleged offence employed, in connection with the affairs of a State, of the State Government.
(2) No Court shall take cognizance of any offence alleged 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 sanction of the Central Government.
(3) The State Government may, by notification, direct that the provisions of sub-section (2) shall apply to such class or category of the members of the forces charged with the maintenance of public order as may be specified therein, wherever they may be serving, and thereupon the provisions of that sub-section shall apply as if for the expression "Central Government" occurring therein, the expression "State Government" were substituted.
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (1), (2) and (3), where the sanction for prosecution is not granted by the Government within a period of one hundred and twenty days from the date on which the request was received by that Government for grant of sanction, it shall be deemed that the sanction has been granted by such Government on the expiry of the said period of one hundred and twenty days.