In Brief
S.K. Miglani, a Bank of Baroda manager, was prosecuted without sanction under Section 197 Cr.P.C. for allegedly forging account documents to enable withdrawal of a cheque. He argued that as a public servant, prior government sanction was required before prosecution. The Supreme Court held that Section 197 applies only to public servants not removable except by government sanction. A bank manager can be removed without such sanction, so Section 197 protection did not apply. The Court also deleted the Magistrate's observations characterizing the appellant's conduct as forgery, holding that such conclusive opinions on evidence must be avoided before trial.
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