PANJIM, April 28 -- The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Monday reserved its order on pleas by PWD Minister Digambar Kamat and former Chief Minister Churchill Alemao challenging the Enforcement Directorate's prosecution against them in the Louis Berger money laundering case, bringing into focus a fundamental legal question - can a trial proceed against public servants without prior sanction from the competent authority.

Hearing two criminal miscellaneous applications, the single bench of Justice Ashish S Chavan concluded arguments from both sides, with the defence narrowing its attack to what it called a fatal procedural lapse. Counsel for the applicants argued that the Enforcement Directorate had filed its chargesheet and pushed the case ...