Mandatory supervisory reporting before prosecution must be followed; charge-sheet filed in breach was quashed.

Directions requiring the investigating agency to report the progress and result of investigation to the supervising authority were treated as binding and enforceable, not as a mere formality or prior approval regime. The Court held that the agency had to place the collected material and investigation results before the supervisory body before initiating prosecution. Because the charge-sheet was filed without that mandatory reporting, the charge-sheet and the cognizance taken on its basis could not stand, and the resulting proceedings were quashed. Liberty was left open to file a fresh charge-sheet in accordance with the required procedure.

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Issues: Whether the charge-sheet and the cognizance taken on its basis were liable to be quashed for non-compliance with the directions requiring the investigating agency to report the progress and result of investigation to the Central Vigilance Commission before filing the charge-sheet.

Analysis: The directions in the earlier judgment were construed as creating a mechanism of oversight over the functioning of the investigating agency, not as a requirement of prior approval for every investigative step. Even so, the Court held that the agency was obliged to place the results of its investigation and the material collected before the supervising authority for review before initiating prosecution. The filing of the charge-sheet without such reporting was treated as a breach of the binding directions issued under the Constitution, which were considered operative and enforceable until replaced by legislation. In that view, the trial court ought not to have entertained the charge-sheet and the resultant proceedings could not stand.

Conclusion: The challenge succeeded. The cognizance taken by the Special Judge and all consequential proceedings were quashed, while liberty was left open to file a fresh charge-sheet in accordance with the required procedure.

Ratio Decidendi: Directions issued by the Supreme Court to ensure supervisory reporting by the investigating agency are binding and must be strictly complied with, and a charge-sheet filed in breach of such mandatory reporting requirements is liable to have the cognizance and consequent proceedings set aside.

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