Tamil Nadu makes prior sanction mandatory for prosecution of all ranks of police officers

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday issued a notification extending a section of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to the state police, making prior government sanction necessary to prosecute personnel of all ranks for offences allegedly committed while on duty, The Hindu reported.

Such protection mandating prior sanction was available earlier under Section 197 of the erstwhile Code of Criminal Procedure, The New Indian Express reported. However, this provision did not cover personnel in the ranks of inspector and below.

The only exception was for inspectors in the intelligence and anti-terror wing ‘Q’ Branch, who were offered the same protection through a provision in the Tamil Nadu Police Discipline and Appeal Rules.

In July 2024, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure. With this, Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita became the equivalent of Section 197.

Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, such protection to the armed forces was also offered under sub-section 2 of Section 218. It also covered classes of public servants under sub-section 1.

However, it was left up to state governments to extend such protection to members of the police in their states by making enabling provisions.

In a notification issued on Wednesday, the state government said that Section 218(2) will apply “to all the classes and categories of police personnel...

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