Sanction to prosecute government officials: Extend time frame to eight months, says CVC

As the top anti-corruption watchdog, the CVC acts as the nodal agency for obtaining sanction to prosecute government employees. The attempt to extend the deadline comes after inordinate delays on the part of government departments to grant or deny sanction for prosecution. “It will also act as a shield for honest public servants, against any harassment through frivolous prosecution,” said another CVC official.

According to the CVC’s report issued last month, 31 cases of prosecution sanction are pending with various central government departments, including five cases against IAS officers facing CBI probe.

The Supreme Court, in the Vineet Narain judgment of 1997, had stated that the “time limit of three months for grant of sanction for prosecution must be strictly adhered to. However, additional time of one month may be allowed where consultation is required with the Attorney General (AG) or any other law officer in the AG’s office.”

In 2012, a Bench of Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly — while allowing a petition filed by then Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, who questioned the delay on the part of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in granting sanction for prosecution of former telecom minister A Raja in the 2G spectrum allocation case — had also set a deadline of three months. A lower court acquitted Raja and others last week.

Under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, sanction is necessary and “no court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under Sections 7, 10, 11, 13 and 15 of the PC Act, except with previous sanction”.