An amended legislation which makes it mandatory for the competent authority to decide on granting prosecution sanction within three months of a complaint was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013, says any application seeking sanction to prosecute a public servant, including a minister, can only be considered if the complaint has been filed in a competent court and it has directed the complainant to obtain prosecution sanction against the public servant for further proceedings. The amendment bill was introduced by MoS for personnel V. Narayanasamy.
The bill also makes it mandatory for the government or the competent authority to convey within three months whether it has granted prosecution sanction. The period can be extended by another month after consulting the Attorney General or the Advocate General.
At present, the sanction to prosecute any public servant is granted by the competent authority. While in case of officers, it is the minister concerned, in case of the ministers, it is the PM. The move to amend this provision of the Act comes months after adverse comments had been made by the Supreme Court in its judgment on a petition filed by Subramanium Swamy that even after passage of 16 months, the PMO did not respond to an application seeking sanction to prosecute former communications minister A. Raja.
in the 2G scam.