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Centre for Public Interest Litigation v. Union of India

Writ Petition · 2026 INSC 55Decided 13 Jan 2026
Writ Petition (C) No. 1373 of 2018
Justice K.V. Viswanathan · Justice B.V. Nagarathna

Background

A PIL challenged Section 17A, which bars even a preliminary corruption inquiry against a public servant without prior government approval, arguing it revives safeguards the Court had already struck down in earlier rulings.

Decision Breakdown

The two judges disagreed: one would uphold Section 17A if read down with a mandatory Lokpal/Lokayukta screening safeguard; the other would strike it down entirely as arbitrary. Given the split, the matter was referred to the Chief Justice for a fresh, appropriately constituted bench.

Lesson Learnt

The constitutional validity of the "prior approval" shield for corruption inquiries against public servants remains unsettled, even the Supreme Court sometimes cannot deliver a final verdict when its judges genuinely disagree.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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