Supreme Court
The Supreme Court ruled that the Ministry of Education must obtain approval to investigate and prosecute public servants under the CRPC. A bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Augustine George Masih dismissed a petition by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging the High Court’s ruling. In the High Court ruling, the agency’s order of cognizance on the complaint (chargesheet) against two IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officers was quashed. The court held that the provisions of Section 197(1) of the CrPC are applicable to the complaint filed under Section 44(1)(b) of the PMLA.
According to Section 197(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, if any public servant, judge or magistrate is alleged to have committed any offense in the discharge of his official duties, no prosecution for the offense may be instituted in any court without prior sanction. it. The approval is given by the President on behalf of the central government and the Governor on behalf of the state government. If the civil servant is employed by the central government, only the approval of the central government is required. If a civil servant is employed by a state government, approval must be obtained from the state government itself.
What does CRPC say?
According to the CrPC, the special court can take cognizance of an offense under Section 3 after receiving a complaint from an officer under the Act. The court order means that the special court must obtain prior approval required under Section 197(1) of the CrPC before finding money laundering offense under the PMLA.
The judge said the purpose of Section 197(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code was to protect public servants from prosecution for acts committed in the course of their duties. The court further observed that given the intention behind the provision, the application cannot be ignored unless there is a contradictory provision within the PMLA. The court stated that no such provision was found in the present case.
What did the Supreme Court say?
The judge said that Section 197(1) provides that if a person who is or has been a judge, magistrate or public servant, who cannot be removed from office without the sanction of the Government, is charged with any such offence, the person is guilty of his In the discharge of their duties, no such offense shall be cognizable in any court without prior approval. The Supreme Court said the purpose of Section 197(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code is to protect public servants from prosecution and ensure that they are not prosecuted for any error committed in the discharge of their duties.
The judge said the provision was to protect honest and dedicated officers. However, this protection is not without conditions. They can be prosecuted with the prior approval of the relevant government.
The bench said that considering the purpose of Section 197(1) of the CrPC, unless there is a provision in the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) that is inconsistent with Section 197(1), its application cannot be denied. However, the Supreme Court said that the ED can take action against the two senior IAS officers after getting prior sanction for prosecution.
