In Brief
The Supreme Court heard an appeal by the Central Bureau of Investigation against a High Court decision that acquitted an accused charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, on the ground of an irregularity in the sanction for prosecution. The trial court had convicted the accused on proven evidence of demand and acceptance of a bribe. The High Court, while agreeing the prosecution proved its case, set aside the conviction because the sanction-granting official had not been examined. The Supreme Court held that procedural irregularities in sanction are not automatically fatal; they vitiate a conviction only if they occasion actual failure of justice. Since the facts were proved and the accused suffered no prejudice in trial, the matter was remanded to the High Court to determine whether the irregularity caused failure of justice.
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