Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Procedure vs In Re : Smt. Mamata Banerjee on 3 May, 2017
Author: Joymalya Bagchi
Bench: Joymalya Bagchi
1 03.05.2017Item No. 277
sdas C.R.R. No. 1478 of 2017 In Re : An application under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
And In Re : Smt. Mamata Banerjee .... petitioner Mr. Pratik Kumar Bhattacharyya ....... for the petitioner Mr. Asraf Ali ........ for the C.B.I. Petitioner has been subjected to a subsequent prosecution under Section 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act as the prior prosecution was without requisite sanction under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Mr. Ali, learned Counsel, who ordinarily appears for the Central Bureau of Investigation, is requested to appear in the matter. Copy of the application be served upon him in Court today.
It has been argued although initial prosecution was instituted against the petitioner without requisite sanction and accordingly the petitioner was discharged, CBI subsequently procured a sanction for prosecution and submitted a fresh charge-sheet in the instant case. It is, therefore, prayed that subsequent charge-sheet is invalid as it was filed 2 without holding preliminary enquiry and/or registration of fresh first information report. It is trite law that discharge of an accused from prosecution due to absence of sanction does not operate as autrefois acquit and subsequent prosecution may be launched upon rectification of such technical deficiency. Hence, upon obtaining requisite sanction, CBI had filed charge-sheet against the petitioner for institution of the impugned proceeding. Institution of the subsequent proceeding, after obtaining requisite sanction, in my considered view, does not suffer from any illegality and the process issued upon the petitioner is, therefore, in accordance with law.
It is open to the petitioner to agitate all other defences available to her in course of trial in accordance with law which needless to mention shall be continued with utmost expedition and be concluded at an early date.
With the aforesaid observation, the application is disposed of. Photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, shall be given to the parties as expeditiously as possible on compliance of all necessary formalities.
(Joymalya Bagchi, J.)