Summary:
The new section says that no police officer shall conduct enquiry against a public servant under the PC Act without prior permission from the Centre or the state government concerned. It said, “Corruption is an enemy of the nation and tracking down corrupt public servants and punishing such persons is a necessary mandate of the PC Act, 1988. “Preventing the police at the very threshold from holding even a preliminary investigation would put a fetter in gathering relevant evidences on a complaint. JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday issued show-cause notice to the Centre on a petition challenging the constitutional validity of an amendment in the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 that forbids police investigation on a corruption complaint against a public servant without approval from the government.The Centre inserted Section 17A in the Act through the Prevention of Corruption (amendment) Act 2018, which was notified on July 26, 2018. The government would have three-month time, which is extendable by one month, to approve or deny permission to the police.Petitioner Bhagwat Gour, through his counsel Ajay Jain, contested in court that section 17A is against fair investigation and equality..