'REPORTABLE'

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1140 OF 2016

(Arising out of SLP (Criminal) No. 3584 of 2012)

STATE THROUGH LOKAYUKTA POLICE, RAICHUR ... Appellant

VERSUS

C. N. MANJUNATH ... Respondent

WITH

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 89 OF 2017

(Arising out of SLP (Criminal) No. 8162 of 2015

CRIMINAL APPEAL NOS. 113-114 OF 2017

(Arising out of SLP (Criminal) Nos. 6191-6192 of 2012)

J U D G M E N T

A. K. SIKRI, J.

Leave granted.

The issue involved in these appeals is as to whether

the respondent who was appointed as licenced surveyor under

Section 18A of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964,

(hereinafter referred to as 'Act') would be treated as

“public servant” for the purposes of Prevention of Corruption

Act, 1988. There was a difference of opinion expressed by

the different Benches of the High Court and, therefore, the

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Criminal Appeal No. 1140/ 2016 etc.

matter was referred to the larger Bench. The Division Bench

vide its judgment dated 29th November, 2011 in Criminal

Petition No. 10853 of 2011 resolved the issue by holding that

such a licenced surveyor would be treated as a 'public

servant' as defined under Section 2(c) of the Prevention of

Corruption Act, 1988. The material portion of the said

judgment reads as under: -

“For considering the aforementioned issue referred to

us, it is necessary to refer to certain of the
provisions of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act and
Karnataka Land Revenue Rules framed thereunder as also
the Prevention of Corruption Act. Section 18-A of the
Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 reads thus:
“18-A. Appointment of Licensed Surveyors: -
(1) The Director of Survey Settlement and Land
Records may, for the purposes of the third
proviso to Section 128 and of clause (c) of
Section 131, issued with the prior approval of
the State Government and subject to such
conditions and restrictions and in such manner as
may be prescribed, a licence to any person
(hereinafter referred to as the “Licensed
Surveyor”) possessing the prescribed
qualifications and experience.
(2) The fee payable to a Licensed Surveyor shall
be as may be prescribed”

2(a). Section 18-A is inserted by Amendment Act No. 14

of 1999 with effect from 30th April, 1999. The object
of the said amendment is as under:
Amending Act 14 of 1999 – Some more than three
lakhs of mutation phody cases are pending for
measurement and many cases are pending disposal
due to change of survey numbers, variation of
extent and other reasons. It is considered
necessary to entrust the work of preparing sketch
of the properties of private surveyors (who will
be called as Licensed Surveyors) who shall
possess such qualifications and experience, as
may be prescribed by inserting a new section to
Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964.

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Criminal Appeal No. 1140/ 2016 etc.

It is also proposed, by amending Section 128

and 131 of the said Act, to make it obligatory for any
person reporting acquisition of right in a partition
in respect of land and any person alienating any land,
that is part of a survey or sub-number, to get a
sketch of the said property prepared by a Licensed
surveyor.
Hence the Bill.”
From the above, it is clear that in order to
clear the pending phody cases of about 3 lakhs with
regard to measurement, survey sketch, change of survey
numbers etc., licensed surveyors possessing requisite
qualification and experience are appointed. The
licensed surveyors are required to perform the
statutory duty of preparing survey sketches of the
properties for the purposes of effecting the changes
in the revenue records maintained for public purposes.
Section 18A(1), further makes it clear that licensed
surveyors are appointed for the purposes of third
proviso to Section 128 and of clause (c) of Section
131 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964. Section
18-A(2) mandates that the prescribed fee shall paid to
the licensed surveyors.”

The High Court also took into consideration the

provisions of Section 128 and 131 of the Karnataka Land

Revenue Act and distilled the legal position in the following

manner:

“2(d) Combined reading of Sections 128 and 131 of the

Karnataka Land Revenue Act makes it amply clear that
statutory duty of preparing survey sketches is
assigned to the licensed surveyors. Prior to coming
into force of Sec. 18-A of Karnataka Land Revenue Act
(relating to licensed surveyors), the very work of
preparing survey sketches was being performed by the
surveyors of the survey department appointed by the
State Government. The State Government having found
that the existing staff in the survey department is
not sufficient to cope up with pending work of
preparing survey sketches of the properties, thought
fit to entrust the work of preparing sketches in
favour of the licensed surveyors. Thus, what is
assigned to the licensed surveyors is the statutory
and official duty of preparing survey sketches under
the provisions of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act and

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Criminal Appeal No. 1140/ 2016 etc.

the Rules framed thereunder.

2(e) It is also relevant to note that Rule 46-A of the

Karnataka Land Revenue Rules, 1966 deals with
qualification, experience and age for obtaining
license as a licensed surveyor. Rule 46-B mandates
that all the persons who apply for license have to
compulsorily undergo training for three months and
pass such examination conducted by the Survey
Settlement Training Institute of Mysore (by the
Government) once in a year, as may be notified.
License shall be issued by the Director of Survey,
Settlement and Land Records, Bangalore under Rule 46-C
to the successful candidates in the examination
conducted by the aforementioned institute on payment
of fee of Rs.1,000/- for a period of one year subject
to renewal every year. The register of the licensed
surveyors is maintained under Rule 46-D of the Rules
by the Director of Survey Settlement and Land Records.
Rule 46-E prescribes the fee of Rs.300/- to be paid to
licensed surveyors for preparing the sketch in
accordance with Sections 129 and 131 of Karnataka Land
Reforms Act. The jurisdiction of the licensed
surveyors also shall be specified in the license as
per Rule 46-F of the Rules. Rule 46-G, 46-H, 46-I and
46-J of the Rules 1966, prescribe the particulars to
be contained in the survey sketch, work specification,
scrutiny of the records given by the licensed
surveyors and post registration work in Taluk Survey
Office etc., Rule 46-K of the Rules, 1966 specifies
that the license issued to the licensed surveyors
under Rule 46-A of the Rules shall be cancelled if the
licensed surveyors contravene any of the provisions of
the Act or the Rules after giving an opportunity of
being heard to them”

Against the aforesaid judgment of the Division Bench of

the High Court, Criminal Appeal Nos. 113-114 of 2017 (arising

out of SLP (Criminal) Nos. 6191-6192 of 2012), have been

filed.

For the purpose of deciding these appeals, we take note

of the facts from Criminal Appeal No. 1140 of 2016 (arising

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Criminal Appeal No. 1140/ 2016 etc.

out of SLP (Criminal) No. 3584 of 2012).

Insofar as Criminal Appeal No. 1140 of 2016 is

concerned, the Single Judge of the High Court has taken a

contrary view holding that Surveyor is not a public servant.

Thus, in all these cases, the issue is as to whether Surveyor

under Section 18A of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act would be

treated as “public servant” for the purposes of Prevention of

Corruption Act, 1988.

After hearing learned counsel appearing for both the

parties, we are of the opinion that such a licensed surveyor

is to be treated as public servant. For this purpose, we are

entirely in agreement with the view taken by the Division

Bench as extracted above. We may mention that different

Single Judge Benches of the Karnataka High Court had

conflicting views and, for this reason, the matter was

referred to the Division Bench which has been answered, by

the judgment dated 29th November, 2011 as noted above,

holding licensed surveyor to be a public servant under

Section 2(c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. For this

purpose, the High Court, after taking note of the provisions

of Section 128 and 131 of the Act, came to the conclusion

that these surveyors discharge statutory duty of preparing

survey sketches. Such a function was earlier performed by

the surveyors of the Survey Department appointed by the State

Government. As these Government surveyors were over-burdened

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Criminal Appeal No. 1140/ 2016 etc.

with the work, Karnataka Land Revenue Act was amended by

inserting Section 18A therein and the work was assigned to

these licensed surveyors. All the activities of the licensed

surveyors relating to discharging of statutory duties are

controlled by the Survey Department of the State Government.

The High Court has observed as under:

“...As aforementioned, qualification, experience and

age for obtaining license as a licensed surveyors,
training to be undertaken by the licensed surveyors for
getting the license; getting through the examination
conducted by Survey Settlement Training Institute of
Mysore every year; prescribing the fees to be paid to
the license surveyors; cancellation of license etc., is
done and carried out by the State Government. Even the
jurisdiction of the licensed surveyor is specified in
the license issued by the State Government. Thus, it
is clear that the licensed surveyors are not only to
aid and assist the State Government in their
functioning as licensed surveyors. Thus, the licensed
surveyors cannot be termed as mere contractors bound by
their engagements, but they are the licencees who are
bound by the terms of the office as a licensed
surveyors.”

This legal position is curled out from Rule 46-A to

46-K of the Karnataka Land Revenue Rules, read conjointly

with Sections 18-A, 128 and 131 of the Act. The aforesaid

facts and legal position unambiguously leads to the

conclusion that these licensed surveyors are different from

those private surveyors who have no license from the State

Government. Once survey report is prepared by these persons,

the same is duly acted upon, on the basis of which Government

functionaries take further action. It is, thus, statutory

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Criminal Appeal No. 1140/ 2016 etc.

work of preparing survey sketches which is bestowed upon

these licensed surveyors and thus, they are performing

statutory duty / public functions.

Once the nature of performance of duties gets

crystallized, no doubt remains that these licensed surveyors

would come within the ambit of Section 2(c) of the Prevention

of Corruption Act and particularly clause (i) and (viii)

thereof, which defines public servant to mean:

“Section 2(c)

“(i) any person in the service or pay of the

Government or remunerated by the Government by fees or
commission for the performance of any public duty;
x x x x x

(viii) any person who holds an office by virtue of

which he is authorized or required to perform any
public duty.”

We would also like to refer to the definition of

'public duty' as contained in Section 2(b) of the Prevention

of Corruption Act, which reads as under: -

“'public duty' means a duty in the discharge of which

the State, the public or the community at large has an
interest.”

Obviously, in the duties that are to be discharged by

these public surveyors, the State or the public has interest

therein. It is more so, when these public surveyors are

bound by the terms of their office as licensed surveyors,

viz., the terms on which they are given license by the

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Government.

As a result, Criminal Appeal No.89 of 2017 and Criminal

Appeal Nos. 113-114 of 2017 are dismissed and Criminal Appeal

No. 1140 of 2016 is allowed.

........................, J.
[ A.K. SIKRI ]

........................, J.
[ ABHAY MANOHAR SAPRE ]

New Delhi;
November 22, 2016.

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