Mohandas vs State Of Kerala

The Supreme Court held that under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, no court can take cognizance of offences against public servants without prior sanction from the competent authority. In this case, the Court found that the sanction granted by the Secretary (Vigilance) was invalid as it was issued before the Secretary was authorized to do so on 23.4.1994. Consequently, the Court quashed the proceedings against the appellant due to lack of valid sanction, thereby upholding the principle that jurisdiction is contingent upon compliance with statutory requirements.