The word “removable” under Section 197 of the Cr.P.C. refers to the authority which has the power to remove the public servant concerned from his service.
As you have mentioned, the removing authority for an Inspector of Police is generally the Director General of Police (DGP) or the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and NOT the State Government. Therefore, in so far as the main provision of Section 197 Cr.P.C. is concerned, i.e., under sub-section (1) thereof, there is no requirement for taking sanction of the Government for prosecuting the Inspector.
However, for police personnel, sub-section (3) of Section 197 may also be relevant, which is as under:
“(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 will apply as if for the expression “Central Government” occurring therein, the expression “State Government” were substituted.”
Therefore, if a Notification has been issued by the concerned State Government under sub-section (3) for applying the provision of sanction to other classes of police personnel, then sanction may be necessary even for such lower level police personnel. For example, if I remember correctly, in Maharashtra, such a Notification has been issued by the State Government, necessitating sanction under Section 197 Cr.P.C. even for a police constable if other conditions in sub-section (1) thereof for that offence are satisfied.
So, you should check the relevant Notification, if any, of the concerned State Government.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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