Attorney-general G.E. Vahanvati proposed to lay down guidelines for grant of sanction to private complainants in corruption cases, saying the bar provided in the law was being used as a “shield” rather to protect corrupt people occupying public offices.
The Supreme Court bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly said that former law minister Subramanian Swamy had raised a very important question of law on the right of a private individual to obtain sanction from the competent authority. And if a situation arises that despite the filing a case with the court with sufficient material, the sanction is denied or delayed and what will happen.
To deal with such a situation, the top court proposed to lay down comprehensive guidelines for grant of sanction to the private complainants in the same manner as the top court did on sexual harassment in the Vishakha case a decade ago.
“If the court feels that the three months rule laid in the Vineet Narain (Hawala) case verdict, for the CBI (to obtain sanction) is made applicable to the private persons, I have no issue to join on this,” AG said but emphasising that any sanction has to come only after a complaint is filed with the court and enough material is placed before the judge to take cognisance of the same.
To a specific query by the bench to the AG on ideal time limit to decide the sanction application, Mr Vahanvati said, “It should be maximum of six months.”
The AG explained that under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act no private person is barred from filing a direct complaint to the court of competent jurisdiction in a corruption case as the bar is only on the judge to take cognisance of such case in the absence of sanction from the competent authority.
However, the bench reminded the AG that hundreds of corruption cases were pending with the CBI for years due to want of sanction and in such a situation, what was the guarantee that even after an individual filing a complaint with the court, the competent authority would grant sanction.
In the wake of such serious lapses by the authorities in granting sanction, or holding it back “deliberately” the court directed that the AG should place on record complete data of cases which could not be proceeded further in the court due to want of sanction. The court would continue the hearing in the crucial case on Wednesday.