Irregularity in sanction order does not warrant acquittal unless it leads to a failure of justice: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court in CBI vs. Jagat Ram clarified that irregularities in sanctioning prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, do not warrant acquittal unless they cause prejudice to the accused. A bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Manoj Misra set aside the Punjab & Haryana High Court's decision, which had overturned the conviction of a public servant due to procedural lapses, including the failure to examine the sanctioning authority.
The CBI argued that the High Court failed to assess whether the irregularity in sanction caused a failure of justice, despite the prosecution proving the demand and acceptance of a bribe and the defense not rebutting the presumption under Section 20 of the Act. Justice Narasimha, referring to Section 19(3)(a) and Section 19(4) of the Act, emphasized that procedural lapses in sanction do not justify reversal unless they result in a failure of justice, as explained in CBI vs. Ashok Kumar Aggarwal (2014).
Since the High Court did not examine if the irregularity in sanction caused prejudice to the accused, the Supreme Court remanded the case for reconsideration on this issue while upholding other findings. The Court observed that the High Court had acknowledged the prosecution’s evidence of demand and acceptance of the bribe but had not addressed whether the sanction irregularity led to injustice.