Apex court verdict vindicates PM, says PMO

New Delhi, January 31: The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Tuesday said the Supreme Court verdict on time-specific sanction for prosecuting alleged corrupt public servants has “completely vindicated” the prime minister.

“We welcome the fact that both the learned judges have completely vindicated the PM while appreciating the onerous duties of his office,” said a statement from the PMO.

In its verdict, the apex court set the government a three-month deadline for sanctioning prosecution of public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act while allowing a petition by Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy.

Swamy had contended Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was sitting on his application seeking sanction to prosecute former telecom minister A. Raja for his alleged involvement in the 2G scam.

“The government is examining their (the court’s) directions regarding the manner in which applications are to be dealt with,” the PMO statement added.

A bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly said the three-month period would be extended by another month if the government wanted to take the opinion of the attorney general.

—-IANS—