The sanction came almost two years after CBI had sought permission to hold the inquiry.
Law Minister Salman Khurshid is learnt to have given a go-ahead to CBI to hold a preliminary inquiry against 20 members of Income Tax tribunal for their alleged role in outsourcing writing of judgements to private individuals in return for favour.
Law Ministry sources said Khurshid signed the file granting CBI sanction to undertake the preliminary inquiry after Attorney General GE Vahanvati opined that the Ministry can go ahead as there were no legal hurdles.
The sanction came almost two years after CBI had sought permission to hold the inquiry.
The Law Ministry has administrative control over the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT).
The vigilance department of the ministry will coordinate with CBI on the issue.
The move comes close on the heels of a meeting between Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia and Khurshid in which the former is learnt to have asked the government to ensure that the controversy does not linger on for long.
A Supreme Court Judge heads the appointment panel of ITAT.
The CJI had written to the Law Ministry in this regard in February, 2011.
CBI has been seeking sanction from the ministry since 2008 to register a preliminary inquiry against 20 members of ITAT posted in various benches across India.
The agency alleged these members had outsourced writing of judgements to private parties in return for favour.
The ministry had recently granted sanction to CBI to file a chargesheet in a Kolkata court against suspended tribunal member Jugal Kishore and five others.
After the CJI's meeting with Khurshid, the Law Ministry had sought more details from CBI and other agencies to process the request to grant sanction for a preliminary probe.
Government had recently informed the Rajya Sabha that the Chief Justice of India had asked it to take an appropriate decision in respect of certain members of the Tribunal who are alleged to have an unholy nexus with private persons on account of issuance of orders favouring the clients, resulting in possible losses to the government.
Khurshid had said the matter is under consideration.
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