The Supreme Court has stayed the proceedings before the Special Court (Srinagar) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) against Tariq Ahmad Ganaie, after the petitioner raised the lack of prior sanction as required under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC, now Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023). The provision mandates prior sanction to prosecute a public servant.