Supreme Court: No sanction required for prosecution in court-monitored cases

The Supreme Court held that no approval from the Central Government is required by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prosecute senior bureaucrats in court-monitored corruption cases. The court cleared that the sanction is not necessary under section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act when the case under the Prevention of Corruption Act is monitored by court.

The court gave this ruling over the petition filed in coal blocks allocation scam to seek its direction to do away with the provisions of prior sanction of the Centre in cases monitored by court.

What is Coal allocation scam?

Coal allocation scam or Coalgate is a political scandal concerning the Indian Government’s allocation of the nation’s coal deposits to Public Sector Entities (PSEs) and private companies by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. As  per  the  audit  report  of the Comptroller and Auditor General  (CAG)  of India, allocation  of  coal  blocks  without  bidding  has  caused  a  huge loss of 1.86 lakh crore to the India’s exchequer. 

What is the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act?

DSPE Act, 1946 is a legislation which provides for the constitution of a special police force in Delhi for the investigation of certain offences in the Union territories, for the superintendence and administration of the said force and for the extension to other areas of the power and jurisdiction of the members of the said force in regards to the investigation of specific offences as mentioned in this law.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2013

Category: Legal & Constitution Current Affairs