In Brief
A scheduled caste woman alleged that municipal officials conspired to fraudulently alter land records and allotment documents, attempting to illegally seize her husband's property while he was undergoing cancer treatment. A clerk's application for protection under Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code (which shields public servants from prosecution for acts done in official duty) was denied at trial but granted by the High Court. The Supreme Court dismissed the complainant's appeal, holding that since the clerk's superior officers involved in the same transaction had been granted Section 197 protection, consistency required the same protection be extended to the clerk's duties, as no sanction had been obtained against any officer before prosecution commenced.
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