There are six cases involving Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers among over 118 cases of corruption involving public servants that await prosecution sanction from the Central and State governments, according to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) data.
The number of government officials, public representatives and bank officials named in these cases are over 300. In some cases, the sanction is awaited since 2016.
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A Central Bureau of Investigation plea seeking clearance to prosecute BJP member Maneka Gandhi in an alleged corruption case dating back to 2001 when she was a Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cabinet awaits sanction from the Ministry of Home Affairs since 2020, according to records available with the Central Vigilance Commission. The case was registered in 2006.
Similarly, the Narada bribery case involving three Trinamool Congress members of Parliament and a BJP MP awaits sanction from the office of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
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Sting operation
A sting operation conducted by news portal Narada News in 2014 had purportedly showed a dozen TMC leaders accepting cash on camera, including Suvendu Adhikari who is with the BJP now. The CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch registered the case on April 16, 2017, on the directions of the Calcutta High Court.
The prosecution sanction has been sought under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 which says that “No court shall take cognisance of an offence punishable under Sections 7, 10, 11, 13 and 15 alleged to have been committed by a public servant, except with the previous sanction” of the Central and the State governments or any other competent office.
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The case involving former Coal Secretary P.C Parakh, Sujit Gulati and Shailandra Singh, who were named as accused by the CBI in a coal block allocation scam in 2014 also await prosecution sanction since 2020. Mr. Parakh retired from service in 2005 and the case was registered almost a decade later. In his book, ‘Crusader or Conspirator? Coalgate and Other Truths,’ Mr. Parakh had accused the CBI of “witch-hunting.”
The prosecution sanction against three Securities and Exchange Board of India officials — Jayanta Jash, Jeevan Sonparote and Prasenjit Dey — who are named as an accused in the 2014 Saradha chit fund scam also awaits sanction since 2017.
A DoPT official said that as soon as they receive a request for sanction of prosecution, they transfer the application to the concerned Ministry or department.
