Karnataka High Court: Speaker’s Permission Required Before Filing Chargesheet Against MLAs In Corruption Cases

The Karnataka High Court has clarified that although Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) cannot be prosecuted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 through the ordinary sanction mechanism applicable to public servants, permission from the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly must be obtained before a chargesheet is filed against them. The Court made the observation while dealing with a corruption complaint involving several sitting and former legislators and directed the Speaker to reconsider a request seeking such permission.

The case arose from a private complaint alleging that certain MLAs had offered and accepted bribes in connection with a proposed political defection. The complainant claimed that large sums of money were offered to induce a legislator to switch political parties and that part of the alleged amount was subsequently returned through the intervention of another accused. During the proceedings, the complainant sought permission from the Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly to proceed with prosecution, but the request was rejected on the ground that the Speaker was not the appointing authority of elected representatives.

Examining the issue, Justice S. Sunil Dutt Yadav relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in P.V. Narasimha Rao v. State (CBI/SPE), which held that in the absence of a statutory authority empowered to remove legislators from office, conventional sanction under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act is not required. However, before a chargesheet is filed, permission from the Speaker (or Chairman, in the case of Parliament) must be obtained.

Holding that the same principle applies to State legislators, the Court set aside the communication rejecting the complainant’s request and directed the Speaker to reconsider the matter and pass a fresh decision in accordance with law. The petition was accordingly allowed.