Judgment :

1.1. Leave granted.

2.2. Application for exemption from filing O.T. is allowed.

3.3. The State of Madhya Pradesh had filed a petition seeking special leave to appeal against a judgment given by a single judge at the Jabalpur Bench of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh (in Criminal Appeal No. 1539 of 1995). Prior to the impugned judgment of the High Court, a Special Judge at Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh had convicted the Respondent for offences under Section 7 and Section 13(1)(d)(ii) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 [hereinafter referred to as `the Act]. In pursuance of the findings of the Special Judge, the Respondent had been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for a period of one year and a fine of Rs. 200-/-had also been imposed on him. Aggrieved by this result, the Respondent had filed an appeal before the High Court.

4.4. The learned single judge of the High Court set aside the conviction and the sentence mainly on the ground that the requisite sanction order had not been obtained properly. Under the scheme of the Act, a sanction order from an appropriate authority is required before proceeding with a prosecution under the same Act. The rati