I recently noted the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha Select Committee on the Prevention of Torture Bill with respect to the impunity clause which required prior governmental sanction in this article in the Hindu. The Committee recommended three changes:
1. All requests for prosecution must be dealt with within 3 months – if no decision is taken, sanction will be deemed to have been granted.
2. Any refusal to grant sanction must be accompanied with reasons.
3. Refusal can be appealed by an aggrieved party (currently, it can only be reviewed, not appealed).
Now, the Group of Ministers appears to have made similar recommendations with regard to prior sanction requirements in corruption cases. But can we count on our political class to give up such a powerful tool of patronage and punishment?
