Maharashtra cabinet decides to amend Criminal Procedure Code

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra state cabinet today decided to amend the Criminal Procedure Code ( CrPC) to make it compulsory for magistrates to check whether a prior sanction from the authority has been obtained before ordering probes against public servants.

The cabinet decided to amend Articles 156 (3) and 190(1)(G) of the CrPC in view of several false complaints filed against public servants, a senior official from the Chief Minister's Office told.

The Supreme Court had given clear directives in this regard in a 2013 case and accordingly it has been decided to amend the CrPC, the official said.

Magistrates were empowered to order probes against public servants under Article 156(3) and Article 190 of the CrPC 1973 based on complaints, the official said.

After such orders, the police used to register complaints against them. Later, it was realised that several such complaints were filed with malafide or political intent, the official said.

It was also observed that several such complaints were baseless and hampered the work of honest public servants, the official said.

"Taking into account all these aspects, the state government has now decided to make it compulsory to obtain a valid prior sanction from appropriate government authority," the official said.