Sanction for prosecution cannot be reconsidered on the same materials; fresh material is required for a valid later grant.

Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 requires the competent authority to apply its mind to the materials before deciding sanction for prosecution. Once sanction has been refused on a given set of materials, the authority cannot reopen the matter merely because it later forms a different view on the same record; doing so would defeat finality in the sanction process. A fresh reconsideration is permissible only where new materials, gathered after the earlier order, are placed before the authority and form the basis of a new decision. On the facts, the later grant of sanction rested on the same materials as the earlier refusal and was therefore invalid.

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Issues: Whether the sanctioning authority could review or reconsider an earlier refusal to grant sanction for prosecution on the same materials, and whether the subsequent grant of sanction was valid.

Analysis: Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 requires the competent authority to apply its mind to the material before deciding whether sanction should be granted. The power to grant or refuse sanction is statutory, but once it has been exercised on a given set of materials, the authority cannot reopen the matter merely because a different view is later formed on the same material. Such reconsideration is impermissible because it would destroy finality in the sanction process. Reconsideration may be permissible only where fresh materials, collected after the earlier order, are placed before the authority and form the basis of a fresh decision. On the facts, the later order granting sanction was founded on the same material that had already been considered when sanction was earlier refused.

Conclusion: The subsequent grant of sanction on the same materials was invalid, and the appeal failed.

Final Conclusion: An earlier order refusing sanction cannot be reviewed or reversed on the same material merely because the authority changes its opinion; fresh material is required for a valid reconsideration.

Ratio Decidendi: A sanctioning authority cannot reconsider an earlier refusal of sanction on the same materials; a fresh decision is permissible only if new materials are placed before it.

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