India, Jan. 14 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a split verdict on the constitutional validity of a 2018 amendment (Section 17A) to the Prevention of Corruption Act, which mandates prior sanction for initiating a probe against Government servants. While Justice BV Nagarathna said Section 17A of the PC Act is unconstitutional and needs to be struck down, Justice KV Viswanathan held the provision as constitutional while stressing on the need to protect honest officers, suggesting the prior sanction can be decided by Lokpal.

As it is a split verdict, the Chief Justice of India has to create a bigger bench to decide the matter. The top court's judgment came on a PIL filed by NGO 'Centre for Public Interest Litigation' (CPIL), headed...