Now Reading: Delhi High Court clarifies sanction rule for former civil servants
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Delhi High Court clarifies sanction rule for former civil servants
The Delhi High Court has ruled that the 2018 amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act can protect former civil servants accused of offences committed before the amendment, but only where the…
The Story in Brief
The Delhi High Court has ruled that the 2018 amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act can protect former civil servants accused of offences committed before the amendment, but only where the court had not taken cognisance by July 26, 2018. A Division Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja said cases already taken up before that date will not be reopened and need no fresh sanction.
The ruling came on a reference from a special CBI court concerning Section 19 of the Act. The High Court said prior sanction is required before cognisance of corruption offences against a public servant, including under Sections 7, 11, 13 and 15. It answered three of four questions referred to it.
The Indian Opinion
The lazy claim that the ruling gives former officials blanket immunity is wrong. So is the opposite suggestion that every old corruption case now needs fresh government approval. The court drew a clear line at cognisance on July 26, 2018, while extending the amendment’s benefit to older alleged offences where proceedings had not reached that stage. Future disputes will turn on court records showing exactly when cognisance was taken.
Source: barandbench.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
