Office, an employment, either judicial, municipal (see CORPORATE OFFICE), civil, military, or ecclesiastical.
As to obtaining offices by desert only, the repealed 12 Ric. 2, c. 2, enacted that--
The Chancellor, Treasurer, . . . the Justices of the one bench and the other, Barons of the Exchequer and all other that shall be called to ordain, name, or make justices of the peace, sheriffs, . . . or any other officer or minister of the King shall be firmly sworn that they shall not ordain name, or make justice of peace, sheriff . . . nor other officer or minister of the King for any gift or brocage, favour or affection: nor that none that pursueth by him or by other privily or openly to be in any manner of office shall be put in the same office or in any other; but that they make all such officers and ministers of the best and most lawful men, and sufficient to their estimation and knowledge.
Officia magistratus non debent esse venalia, (The offices of a magistrate ought not to be saleable.)
Lord Coke (Co. Litt. 234 a) speaks of the above statute as 'a law worthy to be written in letters of gold, but more worthy to be put in execution,' 'for certainly,' he adds, 'never shall justice be duly administered, but when the officers and ministers of justice be of such quality, and come to their places in such manner, as by this law is required.'
The Act remained on the Statute Book until its repeal by the (English) Promissory Oaths Act, 1871--the particularities of the Act of Richard the Second having been (it is presumed) conceived to have been superseded by the generalities of the Promissory Oaths Act, 1868.
The sale of offices is also prohibited by the Sale of Offices Acts of 1551 and 1809. See Chitty's Statutes, tit. 'Offices,' and Sterry v. Clifton, (1850) 19 LJCP 237, where it was held that certain official clerkships of attorneys might be considered partnership pro-perty.
Any words, whether written or spoken, which disparage a man in the way of his office or calling are defamatory, and are actionable per se, i.e., without proof of special damage. See PUBLIC OFFICE.
An 'office' means a public or private employment with certain duties to be performed, Dewan Joynal Abedin v. Abdul Wazed Mian, (1988) Supp SCC 580 (592): (1988) 2 SCR 370.
By 'office' is meant the right and duty to exercise an employment or a position of authority and trust to which certain duties are attached, Shrilekha Vidyarthi Kumari v. State of U.P., AIR 1991 SC 537 (547): (1990) Supp 1 SCR 625.
The word 'office' does not necessarily imply that it must have an existence apart from the person, who may hold it. Cases are known, in which, in order to make use of the special knowledge, talent, skill or experience of certain persons, posts are created, which exist only for so long as they hold them. It will be difficult to hold that such persons are not holders of offices, Dr. Deorao Laxman Anande v. Keshav Laxman Borkar, AIR 1958 Bom 314 (316).
An advocate appointed as a Special Government Pleader to assist the Government Pleader in a particular case does not hold any 'office', Smt. Kanta Kathuria v. Manak Chand Surana, AIR 1970 SC 694 (702). [Constitution of India, Art. 191(1)(a)]
A position or place to which certain duties are attached more or less of a public character. A sort of permanent position held by successive incumbents may be with or without remuneration. It is 'a right to exercise a public or private employment' or to hold a position which has certain duties attached
to it, Pakanti Sudarshan Reddy v. District Collector, AIR 1964 AP 421 (423). [Hyderabad District Municipalities Act, (18 of 1956), s. 27(1)(c)]
The word 'office' refers to the place where business is transacted, Champalal v. State of Madhya Pradesh, AIR 1971 MP 88 (91). [M.P. Panchayats Act, (7 of 1962), ss. 20, 21, 22]
Shifting of activities from office purpose to godown purpose is a change of use of premises, Goa Urban Coop. Bank v. Noor Mohd., (2004) 6 SCC 166.
It is 'a room or building used as a place of business, especially for clerical or administrative work, Goa Urban Co-op. Bank Ltd. v. Noor Mohd. Sheikh Mussa, AIR 2004 SC 3886.
Office, is defined as 'a room, set of rooms, or building where the business of a commercial or industrial organization or of a professional person is conducted; the main office of an insurance company; a doctor's office, Webster's Encyclopaedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, 1996 Edn.; see also Goa Urban Coop. Bank Ltd. v. Noor Mohd. Sheikh Mussa, (2004) 6 SCC 166.
Means 'office' or 'employment as one subsisting, permanent -- substantive position which had an existence independent from the person who filled it, which went on and was filled in succession by successive holders, McMillan v. Guest, 1942 AC 561: (1942) 1 All ER 606 HL. See also Rabindra Kumar Nayak v. Collector, (1999) 2 SCC 627.
The word 'office' is of indefinite context. A position or place to which certain duties are attached, especially one if a more or less public character (per Lord Wright in McMillan v. Guest, 1942 AC 561; P.V. Narsimha Rao v. State, AIR 1998 SC 2120.