No sanction required under BNSS to prosecute public servants for disproportionate assets, rules Madras High Court
The Madras High Court ruled that police do not require prior sanction under the Cr.P.C. or BNSS to prosecute public servants for disproportionate assets, as such offenses lack a nexus with official duties. This decision was made while refusing to discharge former DMK Minister M.R.K. Panneerselvam and his family from a 2011 disproportionate assets case.
Why it matters
This legal interpretation simplifies the process for prosecuting public servants accused of corruption in India, potentially reducing procedural hurdles and delays in bringing cases against those who accumulate wealth disproportionate to their known income sources.
The charge against public servants of having amassed wealth disproportionate to known sources of income has no reasonable connection or nexus with the discharge of official duties and hence there is no need for the police to obtain sanction, either under the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.) or the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), to prosecute them, the Madras High Court has held.
Justice V. Lakshminarayanan passed the ruling while refusing to discharge Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) former Minister M.R.K. Panneerselvam, his wife P. Senthamizhselvi and son P. Kathiravan from a 2011 disproportionate assets case booked by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC).
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