Section 17A: Siddaramaiah Probe Begins

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to face a corruption probe after the Karnataka High Court upheld the sanction granted by the Governor under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). This section provides special protection for public servants from arbitrary investigations.

What is Section 17A?

Section 17A was introduced through an amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act, effective from July 26, 2018. This provision mandates that a police officer must seek prior approval from a competent authority before conducting any inquiry or investigation into a public servant for any offense alleged under the PCA. Without this sanction, the investigation cannot proceed.

In Siddaramaiah’s case, the controversy surrounds land allotment made by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to his wife in a prime location in Vijayanagar. Three activists approached Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot with corruption allegations, and the Governor granted sanction for investigation under Section 17A. However, the Karnataka High Court restricted this sanction solely to Section 17A and rejected the Governor’s sanction under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

What is Section 218?

Section 218 of the BNSS, which replaced Section 197 of the CrPC, relates to the prosecution of public servants and judges. Under this section, the state or central government must decide on a request for prosecution sanction within 120 days. If no decision is made within this time frame, the sanction is considered automatically granted.

Following the court’s decision, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed confidence that the ongoing investigation under Section 17A would be canceled, and the truth would come out soon. He emphasized that the High Court had outright rejected the Governor’s sanction under Section 218.

Political analysts suggest that this issue could become a key topic as Karnataka moves towards upcoming elections. While it could affect Siddaramaiah’s public image, he remains hopeful of clearing his name through legal proceedings.

Aakhir Tak Editor-in-Chief

See Full Bio