INTRODUCTION
The Supreme Court of India has recently commented that there cannot be any kind of concept of “deemed sanction” in Section 197 of the criminal conduct. This section provides protection to all public servants who might be prosecuted by the court until the courts have proper permission from the government to prosecute the government official. They also mentioned that if the government fails to give consent, it cannot be taken as implied consent. Permission has to be granted by the department of which the public servant is part of.
BACKGROUND
It is important to understand that Section 197 of the code says that public officials cannot be investigated or tried for any and all acts they might have committed when they were doing their official duties. This is important because it helps avoid any kind of lawsuits that are unnecessary or any kind of malicious cases against officials. In several cases before the SCI commented on this issue, courts have accepted such cases even though there was no permission from the authorities. Since they did not wait for permission, they took it as “deemed sanction.” This comment was due to a much recent case which was in the High Court and the officer took this case to the SCI where they accepted the officers appeal and stopped the trial.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
The Supreme Court bench which commented on this case was led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. It was mentioned that there is actually no rule for deemed sanction under 192. They also clearly said that permission is absolutely necessary and the investigation/trial cannot start without it. The case cannot be started on the basis of implied permission because the authorities must provide clear permission as to whether to stay the case or not within reasonable time. The court also said that the government or public office has full control over the situation and has the power to decide whether the act was committed in official capacity or not. Courts also cannot take deemed sanction because it would mean that the legal protection that is given to public officers would be violated. Procedural process is necessary in such cases because certain facts of the case could be protected or confidential and the court of investigation authorities cannot take it as assumption.
KEY POINTERS
- There is no clause under Section 197 which can allow for automatic permission: The prosecution cannot proceed unless there is proper government approval.
- Courts should not intervene if there is a delay: Courts cannot assume deemed approval based on government inaction or delays.
- Government has authority to decide on the facts of the case: The government or public office has to assess whether any act was performed in the name of official duty.
- This ruling strengthens legal protection for public servants: Ensuring that officials are not subject to undue prosecution for decisions taken during their official duties.
CONCLUSION
The Supreme Court of India’s ruling in this matter enforced that the nature of Section 197 of the criminal code has to be upheld properly and protection of public officers is important. This can be ensured only through the courts not allowing for deemed sanction and proper process and permission is taken from the government or public offices that the officer works in. This judgement makes sure that a proper chain of command and process is followed and nothing is assumed in the courts.
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WRITTEN BY TANMAYEE VELLORE RAGHUNANDAN
