ORDER
1. The petitioners herein are employees under the respondent-Corporation of the City of Bangalore. According to them, they are working as Medical Officer, Assistant Commissioner in charge of Administration, First Division Clerk, Assistant Revenue Officer, Second Division Assistant and the Deputy Commissioner (West), respectively. These petitioners have been made accused in Cr. No. 3/96, 4/96, 7/96, 8/96, 9/96 and 10/96, which have been registered by the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (in short 'the Task Force'), under Sections 420, 465, 120B and 109 of the Indian Penal Code (in short 'IPC'). The copies of the First Information Reports (in short 'FIR') have been filed as Annexure - 'A1 to A6'. From the facts disclosed in the FIR, the allegations transpiring against the petitioners are that they in conspiracy with their co-accused have given appointments in the Bangalore City Corporation on the basis of false and forged documents for mutual wrongful gains. The present writ petition has been filed by the petitioners for quashing of the said police cases on the ground that the Task Force is constituted under Notification No. 800 dated 27-5-1996 (Ann. 'H') has no competence under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short 'Cr.P.C.') either to register the case in question against the petitioners and/or to proceed with the investigation thereof.
2. The above referred Notification bearing No. 800 dated 27-5-96 (Ann. 'H'). issued by the State Government in exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (s) of Section 2 of Cr.P.C., reads as under :-
'NOTIFICATION
NO. HD 231 PEG 95, BANGALORE,
DATED 27TH MAY, 1996.
In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause(s) of Section 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974), the Government of Karnataka hereby declares that with effect from the date of publication of this notification in the official gazette the place specified in column (1) of the area specified in the corresponding entry in column (2) thereof, in respect of offence specified thereunder. SCHEDULE ----------------------------------------------------------------------Name of the Police Areas falling within the Stationjurisdiction of the Police Station---------------------------------------------------------------------1 2---------------------------------------------------------------------Office of the Deputy Bangalore Metropolitan areaInspector General of in respect of the offencesPolice, Bangalore specified below.Metropolitan Task Force, Bangalore.
The Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force specified in column (1) of the Schedule shall have the jurisdiction in respect of the offences under the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, the Bangalore Development Authority Act, 1976, the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Act, 1964, the Karnataka Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1973 and read with Chapter II 34, IPC along with relevant main offence, Chapter V u/S. 107 to 120, IPC Chapter VI under S. 120(B) along with relevant main offence, Chapter V u/S. 107 to 120, IPC Chapter VI under S. 120(B) along with relevant main offence. Chapter VIII u/Ss. 143, 144, 145, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, IPC Chapter IX u/Ss. 217 and 218, I.P.C., Chapter SVI u/Ss. 332, 333, 353, I.P.C. (7)-Chapter SVII Ss. of the IPC, 1860 and 403, 406, 379, 409, 417, 418, 419, 420, 423, 424, 426, 427, 431, 432, 434, 435, 436, 447, 448, 455, 456, and 457, IPC (8) Chapter XVII 456, 466, 467, 468, 471, 472, 473, 474, 475, 476, 477, 477A, IPC Sections 54, 55, 56, 94, 98, 113 and 114 of Karnataka Police Act.
3. Clause (s) of Section 2 of Cr.P.C. under which the above notification issued by the State Government 'Police Station' to mean any post or place declared generally or specially the State Government to be police station and includes any local area specified by the Government in this behalf. If construed in the context of this definition what prima facie transpires is that the State Government has under the above notification at Ann. 'H' has declared the office of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force to be a Police Station. But this police station will be so in respect of the offences specified in the notification which are suspected to have been committed within the Bangalore Metropolitan Area.
4. It is in the above context that Sri Narasimhamurthy, the learned Sr. Advocate appearing for the petitioner, has raised the ground that the offences alleged to have been committed by the petitioners being only of IPC and not being falling under Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, 1976 (in short the 'Corporation Act') or both under the said Act and IPC. The Officer in charge of the police station constituted under the impugned notification, had no jurisdiction to either register the police cases in question or to go ahead with investigations thereof. On the other hand, the learned Advocate General appearing for the respondents has submitted that, once a post or place is declared to be police station within the meaning of Clause (s) of Section 2 of Cr.P.C. then its jurisdiction cannot be held as limited in to any geographical area or the nature of offence alleged to have been committed by the accused persons.
5. The Task Force, has been created by the State Government under its order dated 19-3-1996, which has been placed as Ann. 'F' to these writ petitions. The material part of the said order reads as under :-
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