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Introduction In a significant ruling clarifying the scope of protection available to public servants, the Jharkhand High Court has held that prior prosecution sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is not mandatory where the alleged acts of a public servant are personal, illegal, and unconnected with official duty . The judgment came while dismissing a petition filed by IAS officer Pooja Singhal , who had challenged the cognisance taken against her in a money laundering case. Background of the Case The Petitioner Pooja Singhal , a 2000-batch IAS officer , currently serving as Secretary (Information & Technology), Jharkhand. Formerly served as Deputy Commissioner, Khunti district . Allegations The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) alleged large-scale defalcation of government funds under MNREGA projects . Audit reports suggested embezzlement of ₹18.06 crore during the period February 2009 to July 2010 , when Singhal was the principal authority sanction...

Background of the Sterling Biotech Bank Fraud Case The Supreme Court of India has finally quashed all criminal proceedings against fugitive businessmen Chetan Jayantilal Sandesara and Nitin Jayantilal Sandesara , promoters of Sterling Biotech Ltd , after they deposited an additional ₹5,111 crore with the Registry of the Supreme Court. The litigation arose from allegations of a massive bank fraud involving public sector banks, with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registering FIRs in October 2017 . The alleged fraud, committed between 2004 and 2012 , was initially quantified at ₹5,383 crore , though subsequent assessments placed the total exposure significantly higher. Supreme Court’s Final Order and Compliance with Conditions A Bench comprising Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Vijay Bishnoi noted that the Sandesara brothers had fully complied with the conditions imposed in the Court’s November 19 order , which required them to deposit an additional ₹5,100 crore as part o...

Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi , accused in the ₹14,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam , has hinted at “sensational developments” in his ongoing extradition proceedings in the United Kingdom. The statement was made before Justice Simon Tinkler at the Royal Courts of Justice, London , where Nirav appeared in an unrelated debt recovery case filed by the Bank of India . Nirav, currently lodged in a London prison since 2019, told the court that he remains “extremely hopeful” of either being discharged or granted bail when the extradition case reopens next month. His remarks came as he continues to represent himself in multiple ongoing cases in the UK courts. Background: From India’s Most Wanted to UK’s High-Security Prison Nirav Modi is wanted in India for fraud and money laundering related to fake Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) issued by the PNB’s Brady House branch, which enabled him to siphon off nearly $2 billion . He was arrested in March 2019 in London and has been ...