WHAT we all know is that if an official at the rank of a joint secretary and above is to be investigated, prior permission from the Centre is required. The sheer number of pending requests of investigating agencies mainly of the CBI will also tell you how difficult it is to get such an approval. But a Madras High Court judgement pronounced on April 29, 2013 by a bench comprising Justice R Banumathi and Justice K Ravichandrabaabu said investigating agencies don’t need to wait for permission as the provision in Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, is only “directory, not mandatory, in nature”. Here are excerpts of the judgement:
