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Tejaram v. State of Rajasthan

Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 1147Decided 16 Oct 2026
Criminal Appeal arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 11709 of 2025
Justice S.V.N. Bhatti · Justice N.V. Anjaria

Background

A police constable who had accused a colleague of taking a bribe was himself then accused, in what he called retaliation, of demanding a Rs. 1.5 lakh bribe. After a chargesheet and framing of charges, he argued the mandatory Section 17A prior-approval safeguard for investigating public servants had not been followed.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held Section 17A applies only where the alleged offence relates to an actual official "decision" or "recommendation," it was never meant to shield a public servant simply demanding a bribe, which is a plain criminal act unconnected to any official decision-making. Since the alleged conduct had no connection to any official decision, Section 17A didn't apply at all, making the question of approval moot.

Lesson Learnt

Section 17A's "prior sanction" shield for public servants is not a blanket immunity: it protects only genuine official decisions, not personal acts of bribe-taking dressed up as official conduct.

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

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