The Kerala High Court, in Shankara Bhat v. State of Kerala, has held that prior government sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (“PC Act”) is not required to investigate or prosecute public servants for offences that are ex facie criminal and unconnected to their official duties.
Background and Core Issue
The petitioners, accused of offences under Section 13 of the PC Act, challenged the proceedings against them, arguing that the investigation was invalid as it lacked the prior approval mandated by Section 17A. The central issue before the Court was whether the requirement for such approval is an absolute prerequisite for any inquiry or investigation into any offence allegedly committed by a public servant. The petitioners contended that Section 17A was a necessary shield to protect honest officials from vexatious litigation.
The Court’s Reasoning and Analysis
To resolve the issue, the High Court drew an analogy with the similar provision under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). The Court reviewed established Supreme Court precedents, including Baijnath Gupta v. State of Madhya Pradesh, which held that the protection of prior sanction under Section 197 CrPC applies only to acts that a public servant can reasonably claim were performed by virtue of their office.
Applying this principle, the High Court determined that Section 17A of the PC Act is narrowly tailored. Its protection is confined to actions related to a “recommendation made or decision taken” by a public servant in the discharge of official functions. The Court held that inherently criminal acts such as misappropriation of funds, fraud, falsification of accounts, and criminal breach of trust cannot be considered part of a public servant’s official duties. Such offences are not “recommendations” or “decisions” and are therefore not shielded by the procedural requirement of prior sanction.
Conclusion
The Court concluded that while Section 17A of the PC Act and Section 197 of the CrPC operate in different fields, the underlying principle is the same: procedural safeguards for public servants do not extend to acts of corruption that are fundamentally criminal and unrelated to official functions. Consequently, no prior sanction is necessary to investigate such matters.
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