(1) A panchayat servant shall not, without the previous sanction of
the panchayat he is serving, have, recourse to any Court or to the
Press for the vindication of his official acts or character from
defamatory attacks. In granting sanction to recourse to a Court, the
panchayat shall in each case decide whether it will itself bear the
costs of the proceedings, or whether the panchayat servant shall
institute the proceedings at his own expense and if so, whether in
the event of a decision in his favour the panchayat shall reimburse
him to the extent of the whole or any part of the cost incurred by
him in excess of the costs and damages, if any, awarded to him by
the Court.
(2) When a panchayat, agree to bear the costs of criminal or civil
litigation instituted by a panchayat servant only the excess if any,
of such costs over the amount that may be awarded by the court to
the panchayat servant by way of compensation, damages or costs
shall be borne by such panchayat. In according sanction to the
institution of such litigation, it shall be expressly stated that the
amount of any compensation, damages or costs which may be
awarded to the plaintiff or complainant shall be first set off against
the cost incurred by the panchayat and only the balance, if any
shall be retained by him.
(3) Nothing in this rule shall limit or otherwise affect the right of
any panchayat servant to vindicate his private acts or character
