Can a police officer be prosecuted without government sanction?

For acts done in the discharge of official duty — no, government sanction under Section 197 is required. For acts clearly outside official duty (personal violence unrelated to any official function), Section 197 does not apply and prosecution can proceed without sanction.

What is the 120-day rule under BNSS Section 218?

Under BNSS Section 218, the government must decide on a prosecution sanction request within 120 days. If no decision is taken within 120 days, the sanction is deemed to have been granted — preventing indefinite blocking of prosecutions by government inaction.

Section 197 — Prosecution of Judges and Public Servants — Sanction for Prosecution | Code of Criminal Procedure | LawCodeHub

Section 197(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 — (a) in the case of a person who is employed or, as the case may be, was at the time of commission of the alleged offence employed, in connection with the affairs of the Union, of the Central Government; (b) in the case of a person who is employed or, as the case may be, was at the time of commission of the alleged offence employed, in connection with the affairs of a State, of the State Government.

Explanation

Section 197 is one of the most consequential provisions in the initiation chapter — it creates a mandatory prerequisite for prosecuting public servants for acts done in the discharge of their official duty: prior government sanction. Without this sanction, no court can take cognizance of the offence, regardless of how strong the evidence is. The provision has two competing purposes: protecting honest public servants from vexatious litigation arising out of good-faith discharge of duty; and preventing government from using the sanction power to shield corrupt or criminal public servants from accountability. Courts have narrowed the scope of Section 197 through interpretation: the act must have a 'reasonable nexus' to the official duty — not every act by a public servant while in official capacity attracts Section 197 protection; only acts done 'in the course of' official duty, not acts that are excessively or palpably beyond duty. The BNSS adds a critical accountability mechanism: the government must decide on sanction requests within 120 days — previously, governments could sit on sanction requests indefinitely, effectively blocking prosecutions permanently. The 120-day deemed refusal/grant provision transforms the balance between accountability and protection.

Prosecution of Judges and Public Servants — Sanction for Prosecution

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