The record
Written from the 1 report below. Nothing here is unsourced.
- The Central government told the Madras High Court that the Prime Minister's Office is the sole competent authority to grant sanction to prosecute IAS officers in criminal cases.
- The court's query came in a case about the delay in sanction to prosecute IAS officers K.S.
- Kandasamy and K. Vijaya Karthikeyan in a ₹98.25-crore corporation tender irregularities case linked to former AIADMK Minister S.P.
- Velumani.
- DoPT Joint Secretary Sushil Kumar Patel said files first go to the Central Vigilance Commission for remarks before being forwarded to the PMO for sanction.
- The officer told the court that thousands of pages of documents from the Tamil Nadu government had to be carefully perused, and assured that the sanction process would be completed within two months.
- The ruling matters because prolonged delays in prosecution sanction have held up corruption cases against bureaucrats, and the court will next review an affidavit explaining the entire process on November 12, 2026.
What to watch next
- DoPT affidavit at the November 12, 2026 hearing explaining the sanction process from November 2025 onward.
- Whether the PMO grants sanction against K.S. Kandasamy and K. Vijaya Karthikeyan within the two-month timeline.
- Outcome of the ₹98.25-crore tender irregularities case against S.P. Velumani after the Speaker's February 2024 sanction.
Who said what1
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Sushil Kumar Patel
1 quote · 1 outlet
“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.”
In the article
…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…
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Coverage1
All filed from India
Named India · K.S. Kandasamy · K. Vijaya Karthikeyan · S.P. Velumani · Arappor Iyakkam · Central Vigilance Commission · Department of Personnel and Training · Jayaram Venkatesan · Madras High Court · M. Appavu · N. Anand Venkatesh · Prime Minister's Office · Sushil Kumar Patel
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