Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court at Lucknow recently set aside a sanction order granting approval for prosecution of a public servant accused of submitting forged medical bills, holding that the sanctioning authority failed to apply its independent mind while granting sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The petition challenged the sanction accorded in a Case Crime registered under Sections 420, 467, 468, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code, alleging submission of forged medical reimbursement bills.
The Court observed that the sanction order was cryptic in nature and did not disclose any discussion of the material placed before the sanctioning authority. The Court noted that while allegations against the petitioner were mentioned, there was no indication of how the evidence was examined or evaluated before arriving at a decision to sanction prosecution.
The petitioner had argued that sanction for prosecution of a public servant is a serious statutory safeguard and cannot be granted mechanically or based on extraneous reports.
The High Court placed reliance on the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of India in Mansukhlal Vithaldas Chauhan v. State of Gujarat 1997(7) SCC 622, reiterating that the sanctioning authority must consider all relevant material before granting sanction.
A Bench of Justice Manish Mathur emphasized that the validity of sanction depends upon whether the authority considered relevant facts and material before reaching subjective satisfaction.
The writ petition was accordingly allowed, with liberty to the authorities to pass a fresh order in accordance with the principles laid down by the Supreme Court.
Advocate Sajjad Husain argued for the petitoner while State Counsel Appeared For the Respondents.
Case title: BALWAN SINGH YADAV Vs STATE OF U.P. & Ors