Supreme Court rules Section 17A protection under anti-corruption law unavailable for bribe demands unrelated to official duties

Key facts

• The Supreme Court held that Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 does not protect public servants accused of demanding bribes when the alleged act is unrelated to their official duties.
• A bench of Justices S V N Bhatti and N V Anjaria dismissed the appeal of a Rajasthan police constable, Tejaram, who had challenged the framing of a bribery charge for demanding Rs 1.5 lakh allegedly on behalf of the Superintendent of Police.
• The court held the bribe demand was not linked to any official decision or recommendation, calling it a pure criminal act with no linkage to the appellant's capacity as a public servant.
• Section 17A requires prior approval from the central or state government before investigating offences linked to a public servant's decisions during official duty, with a decision due within three months extendable by one month, and no approval needed for on-the-spot arrest while accepting a bribe.
• The court also held that sanction under Section 19 was required, and the delay in granting it did not invalidate the criminal proceedings since it was granted before the trial court took cognisance in 2024.
• Tejaram was arrested in September 2021, received sanction in December 2023, and his plea was earlier dismissed by the Rajasthan High Court.
• Earlier in 2026, a split verdict arose on Section 17A, with Justice K V Viswanathan upholding it and Justice B V Nagarathna striking it down as protecting the corrupt rather than the honest; the matter was referred to a larger bench, which the court said had no bearing on this appeal.