The Delhi High Court took up a criminal reference made by a Special Judge (PC Act), CBI Court, on questions of law arising under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, specifically concerning Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The core questions referred were: whether sanction for prosecution is taken in respect of the offence or the offender; what the relevant date is for applying the 2018 amendment to pending trials; whether the amended Section 19 operates retrospectively as a beneficial provision; and whether sanction is required to prosecute a former/ex-public servant where cognizance was already taken before 26.07.2018. The Court traced the evolution of the sanction requirement from Chapter IX of the IPC, through the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and reviewed Supreme Court precedents—including S.A. Venkataraman v. State (1957)—which consistently held that prior sanction is unnecessary where the accused has ceased to be a public servant at the time cognizance is taken. The judgment was reserved on 03.07.2026 and pronounced on 06.08.2026, with the Court clarifying it would answer the legal questions and leave the application of law to the facts for the referring Special Judge.