Prior sanction for public servants is mandatory when alleged acts are linked to official duty; deemed sanction cannot be inferred.

Prior sanction under Section 197 CrPC was a condition precedent to cognizance where the alleged acts of a public servant had a reasonable connection with official duty. The Court applied the test whether the conduct was so linked to the discharge of duty that it could be said to have been done while acting or purporting to act in that capacity, and found the impugned affidavit and related communications traceable to the appellant's official role. A deemed sanction could not be inferred because the statute created no such fiction, and the time-limit argument could not displace the requirement of previous sanction. Cognizance without sanction was therefore invalid.

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Issues: Whether prior sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was mandatory before taking cognizance against a public servant for acts alleged to have been done in the course of official duty, and whether the absence of a decision by the sanctioning authority could be treated as deemed sanction.

Analysis: The appellant was acting in her official capacity as a public servant when the impugned affidavit and related communications were made in connection with the ICC proceedings. The governing test is whether the alleged act is so connected with official duty that it can reasonably be said to have been done while acting or purporting to act in discharge of that duty. On the facts, the alleged conduct was traceable to the appellant's official role, so prior sanction was a condition precedent to cognizance. The concept of deemed sanction was rejected because Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 does not create such a fiction, and the time-limit argument could not override the statutory requirement of previous sanction.

Conclusion: Prior sanction was required, cognizance without such sanction was invalid, and the criminal proceedings against the appellant could not be sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: When an alleged offence by a public servant bears a reasonable connection with official duty, prior sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is a condition precedent to cognizance, and deemed sanction cannot be inferred unless the statute expressly provides for it.

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