Issue Of S.197 CrPC Sanction Can Be Raised Before Trial Court At Any Stage Of Proceedings : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court declined to interfere with the trial court's framing of charges against a public servant in a corruption case, holding that the question of sanction under Section 197 CrPC for IPC offences can be examined at any stage of the proceedings, as the issue depends on the nature of evidence presented to determine whether the acts were committed in discharge of official duty.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Sandeep Mehta heard the case where the petitioner-public servant was facing trial for offences under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), 477A (falsification of accounts), and 420 (cheating) of the IPC, alongside charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act. While a valid sanction under the PC Act had been obtained, no separate sanction under Section 197 CrPC was secured for the IPC offences. His revision petitions before the High Court were rejected, prompting him to approach the Supreme Court.

Petitioner's counsel, Senior Advocate Mr. K. Parameshwar, argued that this rendered the entire trial for the IPC charges void and illegal, as charges could not have been framed for the offences punishable under the IPC for want of a Sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

The Supreme Court held that the challenge to charge framing was premature, clarifying that the issue of lack of sanction under Section 197 CrPC can only be determined after evidence is led to assess if the acts were in discharge of official duty or not.

“We are of the view that the issue of sanction under Section 197 CrPC can be taken up before the Trial Court at any stage of the proceedings. It would all depend on the nature of the evidence that the prosecution may lead in the course of the trial.”, the court said.

Cause Title: RAM SAGAR VERSUS CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 891

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Appearance:

For Petitioner(s) : Mr. K. Parameshwar, Sr. Adv. Mr. Kaushik Kumar Dey, Adv. Mr. Amit Singh, Adv. Ms. Shilpi Dey Aditya, Adv. Ms. Sania Sharfuddin, Adv. Ms. Shehla Chaudhary, Adv. Mr. Md. Anas Chaudhary, Adv. Mr. Mohd. Sharyab Ali, Adv. Mr. Ansar Ahmad Chaudhary, AOR Ms. Kavya Dixit, Adv.

For Respondent(s) : Ms. Shagun Thakur, Adv. Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR Mr. Shlok Chandra, Adv. Mr. Udai Khanna, Adv. Mr. T.s. Sabarish, Adv. Mr. Sachin Sharma, Adv. Mrs. Rita Gupta, Adv. Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, AOR