Judgment:
K. Balakrishnan Nair, J.
1. The petitioner is a private sector bank. It has approached this Court seeking the following reliefs:
i) issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents 2 to 11 to afford sufficient police protection and take sufficient steps restraining the respondents 12 to 23 and other demonstrators from-agitating within 100 metres of the premises of the petitioner's bank viz. Regional Office at 'Shema' Building, M.G. Road, Ravipuram, Branch Office at Manorama Junction, Panampally Nagar, P. K. Commercial Complex, Cherootty Road, Calicut and Union Shopping Complex, Thalap Road, Kannur and other branches in the State of Kerala, of the petitioner where the respondents may initiate demonstration and also to take appropriate action against any person violating the provisions of Section 36AD of the Banking Regulation Act.
ii) Grant such other reliefs which are appropriate and incidental in this proceeding and which this Hon'ble Court deems fit and proper.
2. The direction sought is against respondents 2 to 11. They are officers of the Police from Inspector General of Police, Police Headquarters, Trivandrum to Sub Inspector of Police. Town Police Station, Kannur etc. The direction sought against those officers is to restrain respondents 12 to 22 who are female nurses, from holding any demonstrations within 100 metres of the premises of the petitioner bank's various offices. No statute has been brought to our notice prohibiting demonstrations within 100 metres of a scheduled bank and entrusting its enforcement to the police. In this jurisdiction, we are concerned only with the failure of duty of the police. Since the petitioner could not show that the police have failed in their duties, the said prayer cannot be allowed.
3. The second limb of the prayer is to Take appropriate action against any person violating the provisions of Section 36-AD of the Banking Regulation Act. Section 36-AD of the Banking Regulation Act reads as follows:
36-AD. Punishments for certain activities in relation to banking companies.- (1) No person shall-
(a) obstruct any person from lawfully entering or leaving any office or place of business of a banking company or from carrying on any business there, or
(b) hold, within the office or place of business of any banking company, any demonstration which is violent or which prevents, or is calculated to prevent, the transaction of normal business by the banking company, or
(c) act in any manner calculated to undermine the confidence of the depositors in the banking company.
(2) Whoever contravenes any provision of Sub-section (1) without any reasonable excuse, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees or with both.
(3) For the purposes of this section 'banking company' includes the Reserve Bank, the Development Bank, the Exim Bank, the Reconstruction Bank, the National Housing Bank, the National Bank, the Small Industries Bank, the State Bank of India, a corresponding new bank, a regional rural bank and a subsidary bank.
The above provision provides penalty for certain commissions and omissions in the premises of the bank. Since the maximum punishment is only six months' imprisonment, it is a non-cognizable offence going by the provisions of the Cr.P.C.
4. As long as the offence under Section 36-AD of the Act is a non-cognizable offence, the police cannot register any crime against the commission of such offence, on the information given by the bank or investigate the same. The police cannot take any preventive action also in the matter of such offence. Therefore, the direction sought to the police to take appropriate action against the persons violating the provisions of Section 36-AD of the Act, cannot also be granted. If anybody is holding demonstration in violation of any provisions of law or infringing any rights of the petitioner, it can move the competent civil court and obtain an order of injunction against them. This Court cannot confer on the police the jurisdiction to deal with such matters, in the absence of any statutory provision authorising them to do the same.
5. In the result, the writ petition is dismissed without prejudice to the contentions of the petitioner and its right to move other forums for appropriate reliefs.