What happens if government ignores a prosecution sanction request under BNSS?

Under BNSS Section 218(3), if the government does not accord or refuse sanction within 120 days of receiving the request, sanction is deemed to have been granted. Prosecution can proceed without explicit sanction after 120 days.

Does the 120-day rule mean public servants can always be prosecuted after 120 days?

If the government has received a sanction request but has not responded within 120 days, prosecution is treated as sanctioned. However, if no sanction request has been filed, the 120-day period hasn't started. Prosecution must still first formally request sanction.

Section 218 — Prosecution Sanction — 120-Day Deemed Grant Provision | Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita | LawCodeHub

Section 218(1): When any person who is or was a Judge or Magistrate or a public servant not removable from his office save by or with the sanction of the Government is accused of any offence alleged to have been committed by him while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty, no Court shall take cognizance of such offence except with the previous sanction of the Government. Section 218(2): The Government shall, before according or refusing a sanction, obtain the opinion of the Attorney General or Solicitor General of India in the case of an offence alleged to have been committed by a person who is employed in connection with the affairs of the Union, or the Advocate General of the State in the case of a person employed in connection with the affairs of a State. Section 218(3): The Government shall accord or refuse sanction within a period of one hundred and twenty days from the date of receipt of the request for sanction; failing which it shall be deemed that the Government has accorded the sanction.

Explanation

BNSS Section 218 is the most significant anti-corruption reform in the BNSS's initiation chapter — the 120-day deemed grant provision. Under CrPC Section 197, governments could refuse or delay prosecution sanction indefinitely — one of the most potent tools for protecting corrupt or criminal public servants from accountability. Corruption cases involving senior civil servants could be blocked for years, even decades, through the simple expedient of not processing the sanction request. BNSS Section 218(3) closes this loophole: the government must decide within 120 days; if it doesn't, sanction is deemed to have been granted. This deemed grant provision is unprecedented in Indian criminal procedure — it is the legislative equivalent of a court treating silence as consent. The provision also requires the government to consult the Attorney General (Centre) or Advocate General (State) before granting or refusing sanction — ensuring legal advice is taken rather than purely political decisions. The substantive test for sanction (reasonable nexus to official duty) remains unchanged — only the timeline accountability is new.

Prosecution Sanction — 120-Day Deemed Grant Provision

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