In Brief
An executive engineer employed by the Karnataka Urban Water Supply Board faced prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly accumulating disproportionate wealth. After charges were framed and 17 prosecution witnesses examined, he obtained discharge from the High Court on grounds that the Government's sanction to prosecute lacked proper authority. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that once trial had begun and proceeded substantially, the High Court could not reverse the trial court's findings on sanction validity without establishing failure of justice. The Court directed trial to resume, permitting the engineer to challenge sanction validity at final arguments rather than through interlocutory discharge applications.
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