Deemed sanction under the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS)

 Deemed sanction under the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) is a significant new legal concept introduced to address delays in prosecuting public servants for actions taken in the course of their official duties.

What is deemed sanction under BNSS?

• Section 218(1) of BNSS requires that before a court can take cognizance of an offence allegedly committed by a judge, magistrate, or certain public servants in the discharge of their official duties, prior sanction from the appropriate government (Central or State) is necessary.

• Second Proviso to Section 218(1): If the government fails to take a decision on the request for sanction within 120 days from the date of receipt, the sanction is deemed to have been granted automatically.

  • This means that after 120 days of inaction, the bar on prosecution is lifted, and the court can proceed as if the necessary sanction exists.

"Provided further that such Government shall take a decision within a period of one hundred and twenty days from the date of the receipt of the request for sanction, and in case it fails to do so, the sanction shall be deemed to have been accorded by such Government." 

Purpose and Impact:

• The deemed sanction provision was introduced to prevent indefinite bureaucratic delays that previously allowed the government to stall or avoid decisions on sanction requests, thereby protecting public servants from prosecution indefinitely.

• Now, once 120 days pass without a decision, the prosecution is not blocked by the absence of formal sanction, and the public servant cannot later claim lack of sanction as a defense.

• This shifts the balance: while public servants retain protection from frivolous prosecution (since sanction is still required initially), the government cannot use inaction to shield them indefinitely.

• However, this also means that a public servant could face prosecution even if the government simply fails to act, not necessarily because the case against them is strong, but due to bureaucratic inefficiency or oversight.

Comparison with Previous Law (CrPC):

• Under the old Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), there was no concept of deemed sanction—a prosecution could be stalled indefinitely if the government did not grant sanction.

• The Supreme Court has clarified that the deemed sanction provision is unique to BNSS and does not exist under Section 197 of CrPC.

Summary Table:

Provision	CrPC (Old Law)	BNSS (Current Law)
Deemed Sanction Exists?	No	Yes (after 120 days of inaction)
Time Limit for Decision	None	120 days
Effect of Inaction	Indefinite delay possible	Prosecution can proceed automatically

In essence:

Deemed sanction under BNSS means that if the government does not decide a sanction request within 120 days, the law treats sanction as granted by default, allowing prosecution of the public servant to proceed without further delay. This reform aims to balance the protection of honest officials with the need for timely accountability.

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