IMPORTANT POINT
Section 13(1)(d) - Ingredients.

JUDGMENT

Ranjan Gogoi, J.-Leave granted.

2. The judgment and order of High Court of Delhi dated 11.4.2012 affirming the order of the learned trial court rejecting the application filed by the appellant for discharge in the criminal prosecution initiated against him has been challenged in the present appeal.

3. The above order of the High Court challenged in the present proceeding came to be passed in the following facts :

An FIR dated 03.06.1998 was filed by the Superintendent of Police, CBI/ACU.XX/New Delhi alleging commission of the offence under Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) by the appellant during his tenure as the Union Railway Minister from 21.06.1991 to 13.10.1995. Commission of the offence under the aforesaid provision of the Act was alleged on the basis that the appellant had dishonestly made the Managing Directors of RITES (Rail India Technical & Economics Services Ltd.) and IRCON (Indian Railway Construction Co. Ltd.) to approve the journeys of S/Shri B.N. Nagesh, the then Additional PS to Railway Minister, S.M. Mastan and Murlidharan, Stenographers in the railway cell and one Shri Samaullah (domestic help of the appellant) to London in connection with the medical treatment of the appellant. It was alleged in the FIR that the two Public Sector Undertakings did not have any pending business in London at the relevant point of time and the journeys undertaken by the aforesaid four persons were solely at the behest of the appellant who had compelled the services of the concerned employees to be placed in the two undertakings in question. Pecuniary loss to the Public Sector Undertakings was, therefore, caused by the wrongful acts of the appellant.

4. On the basis of the aforesaid FIR, Case no. RC.2(A)/98-ACU.IX was registered and investigated upon. Final report of such investigation was submitted in the court of learned Special Judge, Patiala House, New Delhi on 22.10.2005. In the said final report it was, inter-alia, stated that there was “ample documentary and oral evidence to prove the facts and circumstances of the C.K. Jaffer Sharief Vs. State (Through CBI) case, as stated above, which constitute offences punishable under Section 13(2) read with 13(1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988”. Sanction for prosecution, under Section 19 of the Act was however refused by the competent authority. Accordingly, in the final report it was mentioned that the proceedings against the accused appellant be dropped.

5. The learned trial court by its order dated 25.08.2006 declined to accept the closure report filed by the investigating agency and observed that there appears to be prima facie evidence with regard to commission of offence under Section 13(2) read with 13 (1)(d) of the Act and, possibly, the entire material collected in the course of investigation had not been placed before the sanctioning authority.

6. Pursuant to the order of the learned trial court the matter was once again looked into by the investigating agency who submitted another report dated 01.08.2007 stating that all materials collected during investigation had been placed before the authority competent to grant sanction including such clarifications as were sought from time to time.

7. On receipt of the aforesaid report dated 01.08.2007, the learned trial court by its order dated 26.07.2008 took cognizance of the offence punishable under Section 13 (2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Act.

8. Thereafter, the accused appeared before the learned trial court and filed an application seeking discharge which being refused by the order of the trial court dated 27.01.2010, the appellant moved the High Court of Delhi under Article 226 of the Constitution read with Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for setting aside the order dated 27.01.2010 passed by the learned Special Judge, CBI, Rohini, New Delhi and for quashing of the criminal proceeding pending bef