Additional Sessions Judge I K Kochhar rejected an application by the former Registrar of Co-operative Societies (RCS), noting that no sanction was required to prosecute him.

He told the court, in his plea, that his prosecution was “bad in law as the CBI did not obtain a sanction from a competent authority as required under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)”.

Diwakar, an accused in as many as 65 such cases of fraudulently reviving defunct societies for pecuniary benefits during his tenure from 2001-04, said that since the alleged act was “under the colour of his office and directly concerned with official duties, it necessitated a sanction before his prosecution”.

Seeking discharge in Sartaj CGHS scam, one such case, Diwakar said an approval was mandatory for trying even a retired public servant like him, which the CBI did not obtain.

The CBI, however, opposed Diwakar’s plea saying there was enough evidence to prove that Diwakar had given a go ahead to various prerequisites before reviving Sartaj CGHS and sending a proposal to DDA for allotment of land for the society.

The probe agency said that since his act was not connected with official duties, no sanction was required to prosecute him.