Wednesday, February 19th, 2025

Under PMLA, permission will have to be taken before starting a case against government employees and judges, the Supreme Court clearly said.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court made important comments in a case related to PMLA. The court said that in case of alleged crimes committed against government officials and judges during their public duty, sanction will have to be taken from the government to prosecute them under PMLA (Money Laundering Act). There is a provision under Section 197 (1) of CrPC that to initiate a case against a government servant, approval has to be taken from the concerned authority of the government. The Supreme Court said that this provision of CrPC is also applicable in the PMLA case.What is the matter?
ED had challenged the decision of Telangana High Court in the Supreme Court. In which the High Court had rejected the running of a case against an IAS officer without approval. The High Court’s decision was challenged by the ED in the Supreme Court. A Supreme Court bench led by Justice AS Oka rejected the ED’s application.

In this case, the ED had accused the government officer of misusing his/her official position in land allotment and undervaluation of properties. he/she went beyond his/her authority to grant exemptions and allegedly benefited properties belonging to the former CM. For this they hatched a conspiracy which caused financial loss to the government.

What was the argument given in the High Court
When this matter came before the High Court, it was argued on behalf of the IAS officer that whatever action he/she took was within his/her official capacity and in such a situation, before prosecuting him/her, the competent authority of the government under Section 197 of CrPC. Approval is required. Whereas ED said that PMLA is a special act and hence no approval is required in this matter.

The allegations involve misuse of official power for private gain and in such a situation, the protection given in Section 197 of CrPC does not apply here. Telangana High Court quashed the cognizance and orders taken in this case and accepted the application of IAS BP Acharya in this case. The High Court rejected ED’s argument. After which the ED had approached the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court also rejected the ED’s application.

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