Prior Sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 is required only where the alleged offence is relatable to any recommendation made or any decision taken, by the public servant in discharge of official functions or duties and in all other cases, prior approval is not required, observed Kerala High court in Mini M. v. State of Kerala and Another [2026:KER:36757].
Misappropriation of funds through sanction of fake and benami loans, forgery of signatures and creation of forged documents does not constitute an offence relatable to a recommendation or decision taken in discharge of official functions. Prior approval is not required to register FIR and conduct investigation into such allegations.
The High Court relied on these precedents in arriving at the decision: Jayaprakash v. State of Kerala [2022 (1) KLT 126] and Shankara Bhat and Others v. State of Kerala and Others [2021 (5) KHC 248].
