BAIJNATH GUPTA AND OTHERS vs THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

The Supreme Court held that sanction under Section 197(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure is necessary for prosecuting a public servant for offences committed in the discharge of official duties, even if in dereliction of those duties. The Court clarified that not every act by a public servant requires such sanction; it must be directly related to their official duties. In this case, the Court found that the act of criminal misappropriation under Section 409 IPC was not committed in the discharge of official duties, thus no sanction was required for that charge, while sanction was necessary for the charge under Section 477A IPC due to its connection with official duties.