Sanction refusal under the Prevention of Corruption Act bars a standalone conspiracy charge when no separate IPC offence exists.

A public servant cannot be prosecuted solely for criminal conspiracy under Section 120-B IPC where sanction for prosecution under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 has been expressly declined and no independent substantive IPC offence is alleged. The stated conspiracy must be examined against its object: if it is confined to demand of illegal gratification forming the basis of a corruption offence under the Act, the prosecution cannot bypass the statutory bar by recasting the matter as conspiracy. Section 19 is a substantive safeguard, and an indirect attempt to achieve by IPC prosecution what the Act prohibits directly is legally unsustainable.

---

---

Issues: Whether a public servant against whom sanction for prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 has been expressly declined, and who is not charged with any independent substantive offence under the Indian Penal Code, can be prosecuted solely for criminal conspiracy under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code when the object of the alleged conspiracy is an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

Analysis: The charge sheet and the prosecution's own stand showed that the alleged conspiracy was confined exclusively to the demand of illegal gratification, which formed the foundation of the offence under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The competent authority had declined sanction under Section 19 of that Act, and that refusal had not been challenged. In the absence of any other independent IPC offence attributed to the petitioner, the conspiracy allegation could not be severed from its prohibited object. The protection under Section 19 is a substantive safeguard, and permitting prosecution under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code in such circumstances would amount to an indirect and colourable attempt to do what the statute forbids directly.

Conclusion: The petitioner cannot be proceeded against solely under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code where sanction under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 has been refused and no separate substantive IPC offence is alleged. The conspiracy charge is legally unsustainable.

---