LI Network
Published on: January 24, 2024 at 11:13 IST
The Supreme Court, stressed that acquittal under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act) should not be based solely on an invalid sanction.
The bench, comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and KV Vishwanathan, was addressing a criminal appeal related to the conviction of an accused under the Indian Penal Code and the PC Act.
In essence, the accused, who served as the manager of Syndicate Bank, was accused of abusing his office by fraudulently forging a loan application and an application for opening a Savings Bank Account in the name of a fictitious person.
The trial Court acquitted the accused solely on the grounds of an alleged invalid sanction. The Kerala High Court later found the accused guilty, overturning the acquittal.
The Supreme Court noted that the trial court erred by not recording specific findings on the merits of the case and basing the acquittal solely on the issue of sanction. The court opined that the trial court’s failure to address the merits was an error.
The Supreme Court also expressed dissatisfaction with the high court’s judgment, which entered findings on merits without having the trial court’s findings on record.
Consequently, the Supreme Court set aside the judgments of the lower courts and remanded the matter to the trial court. The court directed the case to be decided expeditiously, preferably within two months.