Granting approval to conduct investigation against public servants under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, which came into force in 2018, ‘cannot be a frolicsome act’, said the High Court of Karnataka.
“Section 17A is clearly a filter that the prosecution must pass in order to discourage or avoid vexatious prosecution, though cannot be considered as a protective shield for the guilty, but a safeguard for the innocent,” the court said.
