NO PRIOR SANCTION NEEDED FOR PROSECUTING ABETTOR: SC

NO PRIOR SANCTION NEEDED FOR PROSECUTING ABETTOR: SC

Holding that no prior sanction was required to proceed against an accused abetting another officer to accept bribe, the Supreme Court has allowed the CBI to prosecute a top Customs and Central Excise officer under the Prevention of Corruption Act. A bench of Justices R V Raveendran and B Sudershan Reddy rejected a ruling of the Bombay High Court which had concurred with the Special Judge CBI that prior government sanction under Section 19 was necessary to prosecute a government official even if he/she is accused of abetting a crime under the Act. "In our considered opinion, the interpretation sought to be placed by the High Court on Section 19 of the Act is wholly erroneous. The court at that stage cannot go into the question whether there was any abettment of any offence punishable under Section 7 or 11," the bench observed, while allowing the CBI to prosecute Parmeshwaran Subramani, the then Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, Panaji, Goa. The CBI in 2002 had filed a chargesheet against Subramani and a Customs Inspector under Section 12 (abettment) on the charge that the duo offered and paid a bribe of Rs one lakh to Ram Avtar Yadav, an Inspector of the investigating agency for hushing up a corruption case against the former. However, the Special Judge CBI Panaji, refused to take cognisance of the chargesheet on the ground that prior sanction as mandated under Section 19 was not obtained by the agency before filing the chargesheet.