BAIJ NATH PRASAD TRIPATHI vs THE STATE OF BHOPAL(and connected petition)

The Supreme Court ruled that a second trial for offences under Section 161 IPC and Section 5 of the Prevention of Corruption Act is permissible after the first trial was quashed due to lack of proper sanction. The Court held that Article 20(2) of the Constitution, which prohibits double jeopardy, does not apply since the first proceedings were deemed null and void, and there was no conviction or acquittal to bar the retrial under Section 403 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Court affirmed that the accused was not being prosecuted for the same offence more than once.