SC issues notice to Centre on validity of Sec 19 of PCA

New Delhi, June 18 (UNI) The Supreme Court today issued notices to the Centre and all states on a PIL challenging the constitutional validity of Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), saying it has lately become a tool in the hands of competent authorities to shield corrupt public servants, both bureaucrats and politicians.

A vacation bench, comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice PP Naolekar, issued notices after hearing D K Garg, counsel for the petitioner, who contended that the impugned act is being misused by political parties in power to shield their leaders and the latest example is that of UP Chief Minister Mayawati, who has been saved from prosecution in the Taj Corridor case by Governor T Rajeswar, who declined to give sanction for her prosecution despite the Supreme Court's direction to the CBI to submit its investigation report to the competent court for scrutiny.

Section 19 of PCA makes it mandatory to obtain prior sanction of the comptent authority for prosecuting a public servant, including Ministers, MPs and MLAs.

The petitioner also cited the examples of Captain Satish Sharma and late Ms Shiela Kaul, both ministers in the PV Narasimha Rao government, who escaped prosecution for illegal and fraudulant allotment of petrol pumps and government land respectively for the want of sanction.

According to the petition filed by advocate D K Garg, the impugned sanction deserves to be quashed as ''unconstitutional,'' as it has become a tool in the hands of authorities who use it ''arbitrarily and discriminately'' to shield and protect corrupt politicians.

UNI