Coal block allocation case: Sanction must before probing officials, SC told

NEW DELHI: The government has told the SC in the coal block allocation case that no officer was willing to take any decision for fear of being investigated and insisted that prior sanction was a must for even probing them.

The government was reacting to a top court suggestion at the last hearing to do away with sanction in case of court directed and court monitored cases like the coal case.

Attorney-General GE Vahanvati conveyed the government's opposition to any such move, going to the extent of citing the example of superior court judges who can't be questioned without the prior nod of the CJI. “Prosecution sanction is not intended to condone acts of corruption but to protect the honest.

The competent authority in every case will examine whether the charges are vexatious,” he told the court.