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2016 (1) TMI 1396 - HC - Indian LawsDischarge of Official duties - manifestation of how the career of an IRS Officer has been blighted by litigation between him on the one hand and the official respondents on the other - Whether the sanction order for prosecution dated 26.11.2002 is invalid and in violation of this Court's order in Writ Petition(Criminal) No.938/2001 instituted by the petitioner herein for non- production of relevant material as well as for want of due application of mind by the sanctioning authority? Maintainability of application - Held that:- It is an established position of law that the court for its perusal and the submissions made by the counsel for the parties, even if the same are in dispute and do not require the taking of oral evidence. Rather, this is a matter of the discretion of the court and not a matter of jurisdiction - Thus, the extent of jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is not confined to questions of law. This proposition is well established through a catena of decisions of the Apex Court, noticeably in the landmark decision of Century Spinning and Manufacturing Company Ltd. vs. Ulhasnagar Municipal Council and Anr. [1970 (2) TMI 134 - SUPREME COURT], wherein the Supreme Court set aside the order passed by High Court dismissing a petition in limine where relief was sought against the respondent in that case, whose actions with regard to the Century. There are no disputed questions of facts. The reply to the LR dated 27.06.2001 as well as the relevant Fax dated 13.01.19998 sent to Mr. Barjatya are conspicuous by their absence in the SP’s Report dated 30.10.2001. It is not surprising, that the order granting sanction also does not allude to either of the afore- mentioned relevant documents, as it is a verbatim copy of the draft sanction order. This Court is not precluded from determining questions of fact under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, since the dispute arising in the present case can be very well be determined by looking at the official documents and material on record including the pleadings of the parties. Stage at which the validity of sanction can be determined - Held that:- The legal position that emerges is that the question of validity of a sanction must be decided as soon as it is raised and cannot be postponed to a later stage of trial, as an invalid sanction goes to the very root of the jurisdiction of the court that has taken cognizance. Considering that the cognizance taken by the Special Judge, CBI would be rendered non-est in light of section 19(1) of POCA, the dispute on validity must be adjudicated at the earliest. The present petition is maintainable under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India - decided in favor of petitioner - in the interest of justice, finality is given to these proceedings and it is directed that no further proceedings in relation to the subject sanction orders be initiated against the petitioner.
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