The Supreme Court on Monday told former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s lawyer that Section 17A, which mandates prior sanction for investigation, under the Prevention of Corruption Act cannot be interpreted to defeat the very objective of the statute.
Responding to the oral observation by a Bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi, senior advocate Harish Salve, for Mr. Naidu, responded that Section 17A was a protection tailored for public servants against regime revenge.
Mr. Salve and senior advocate Siddharth Luthra argued that no sanction was received under Section 17A before suddenly initiating prosecution against Mr. Naidu by registering an FIR, 21 months ago, in the skill development scam case.