What is Section 17A of anti-corruption law under which Siddaramaiah will be probed

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday upheld the sanction granted by the Governor under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) to investigate Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the MUDA case. However, the court dismissed the sanction for prosecution as per Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Last month, Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot granted sanction to three activists to file corruption cases against Siddaramaiah over land that the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) granted to his wife Parvathi in an upscale area in Vijayanagar.
“The decision of the Governor of alleged hot haste has not vitiated the order… the order is restrictive to approval under Section 17A of the PCA and not an order granting sanction under 218 of BNSS,” the court said.
The fact was highlighted by Siddaramaiah as well in his first remarks after the court setback.
“The judges limited it only to Section 17A of the Governor’s order. The court rejected outright the order issued by the Governor under Section 218… I am confident that the truth will come out in the next few days and the investigation under 17A will be cancelled,” the veteran Congress leader said.
Section 17A, introduced by an amendment, came into effect on July 26, 2018. It provides additional protection for public servants from being probed on a frivolous basis.

The provision makes it mandatory for a police officer to seek prior approval from a competent authority for conducting any enquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
In Siddaramaiah’s case, the Governor’s prior sanction was already obtained by the three private complainants. Moreover, the court also observed that the grant of opportunity of a personal hearing was not mandatory under Section 17A.
On the other hand, Section 218 of the BNSS, which replaced Section 197 of the CrPC, deals with the prosecution of public servants and judges.
It provides that the central or state government must decide on a request for sanction to prosecute a public servant within 120 days. If it fails to do so, the sanction will be deemed to have been accorded.