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Section 26: Special Judges appointed under Act 46 of 1952 to be Special Judges appointed under this Act

Prevention of Corruption Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1988
Section 25 All 31 Sections of Prevention of Corruption Act Section 27

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 26

Section 26 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 establishes a dual statutory legal fiction regarding the judicial status and prosecution machinery under the Act. It enacts that for the purposes of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Special Judge shall be deemed to be a Court of Session, and the person conducting the prosecution before the Special Judge shall be deemed to be a Public Prosecutor, resolving jurisdictional and procedural ambiguities regarding court powers and prosecutorial standing.

  • Deemed Court of Session Status: Cloaks the Special Judge with the full panoply of powers exercisable by a Sessions Court under the CrPC, including powers regarding contempt, execution of sentences, and issuance of warrants, while preserving its original trial jurisdiction.
  • Deemed Public Prosecutor Standing: Every prosecutor appointed to conduct cases before the Special Judge is deemed to be a Public Prosecutor within the meaning of Section 2(u) and Section 24 CrPC (Section 2(1)(za) and Section 18 BNSS), vesting them with prosecutorial autonomy and duties of fairness.
  • Exclusion of Magisterial Subordination: Ensures the Special Judge is not subordinated to the Chief Judicial Magistrate or Sessions Judge; trial orders are directly appealable only to the High Court under Section 27.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • A.R. Antulay v. R.S. Nayak (1984) 2 SCC 500: The Constitution Bench clarified that the deemed status under Section 26 does not transform the Special Judge into an ordinary Sessions Court for all purposes; it is a legal fiction created to make the procedural mechanisms of the Sessions Court applicable to this specialized court of original criminal jurisdiction.
  • State of Tamil Nadu v. V. Krishnaswami Devan (1996) 7 SCC 659: The Supreme Court affirmed that a prosecutor appointed under the PC Act enjoys the statutory status of a Public Prosecutor, carrying an institutional duty to act as a minister of justice rather than seeking conviction at all costs.
  • Harshad S. Mehta v. State of Maharashtra (2001) 8 SCC 257: The Supreme Court discussed the legal fictions created under special anti-corruption and economic offense statutes, holding that deeming a special court to be a Court of Session is intended to confer complete procedural powers without diluting its specialized statutory mandate.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Use Section 26 to insist on the independent constitutional and statutory obligations of the prosecutor. If the prosecution is conducted by an investigating officer or private counsel without a formal government notification appointing them as Special Public Prosecutor, object under Section 24 CrPC r/w Section 26 PC Act to restrain them from prosecuting the trial.

Section 25 All 31 Sections of Prevention of Corruption Act Section 27