Supreme Court: 4-month cap for sanction to prosecute govt officials must

New Delhi, October 11

The Supreme Court on Tuesday held the four-month statutory provision for granting sanction to prosecute government officials in criminal cases, including graft matters, is “mandatory”, saying delay in prosecuting the corrupt “breeds a culture of impunity” and leads to “systemic resignation” to the existence of corruption in public life.

Nail the corrupt

By causing delay… the authority stultifies judicial scrutiny, vitiating process of determining charges against corrupt officials. SC Bench

The SC ruled, “The competent authority shall be accountable for the delay and be subject to judicial review and administrative action by the Central Vigilance Commission.”

A Bench of Justices BR Gavai and PS Narasimha, in its 30-page verdict, however, said though the delay in granting the sanction to prosecute could be assailed in the high courts and the top court, it would not be a ground for quashing the criminal cases against government officials.

It said the sanctioning authority must bear in mind that public confidence in the maintenance of the rule of law, which was fundamental in the administration of justice, was at stake here.

“By causing delay in considering the request for sanction, the authority stultifies judicial scrutiny, thereby vitiating the process of determination of the allegations against the corrupt official,” it said.

“Delays in prosecuting the corrupt breeds a culture of impunity and leads to systemic resignation to the existence of corruption in public life. Such inaction is fraught with the risk of making future generations getting accustomed to corruption as a way of life,” it said.