The Hindu (Tamil Nadu) ·
Only Prime Minister’s Office can grant sanction to prosecute IAS officers, Centre tells Madras High Court
Justice N. Anand Venkatesh records the submission and grants two months’ time to obtain sanction against IAS officers K.S. Kandasamy and K. Vijaya Karthikeyan in the ₹98.25-crore corporation tender irregularities case against former AIADMK Minister S.P. Velumani
The Central government on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) informed the Madras High Court that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was the competent authority to grant the statutory sanction required to prosecute Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers in criminal cases.
Appearing before Justice N. Anand Venkatesh, Sushil Kumar Patel, Joint Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), said that the files are sent first to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for its remarks and then forwarded to the PMO, seeking sanction.
The submission was made in response to a query raised by the court to explain who the competent authority was to sanction prosecution against IAS officers and why it takes a very long time to obtain such sanction before prosecuting bureaucrats in corruption cases.
