Illegalities committed by Revenue Deptt officers
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 26: Presiding Officer of Special Anti-Corruption Court Jammu Y P Bourney has returned the closure report filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in a case pertaining to illegalities committed by the Revenue Department with the direction to conduct further investigation.
The illegalities vis-à-vis mutations of land in violation of Agrarian Reforms Act were committed several years back and the matter would not have seen the light of the day had it not been highlighted by an RTI activist, who came to file a written complaint in the year 2014.
Accordingly, Vigilance Organization (now Anti-Corruption Bureau) initiated a preliminary verification and on the recommendations of the enquiry officer FIR No.9/2014 for the offences punishable under Prevention of Corruption Act and various Sections of RPC was registered and investigation was set into motion, which culminated into the filing of final report for closure of the case as not proved.
However, the Anti-Corruption Court observed, “none of the findings of the Investigating Agency hold good being not based upon facts and circumstances apparent on the face of record”, adding “the land in question was under the control and custody of Court of Wards, which acted through Deputy Commissioner Jammu and Assistant Commissioner Jammu was the manager thereof. Therefore, it could not have been mutated without their complicity and then sold also without any permission from the Government”.
“The mutations have been attested illegally in most blatant abuse of the official positions by the Revenue officers and it was done purposely under a well knit plan to usurp the land in question illegally with the active assistance of Anant Ram, son of Devya of Toph Sherkhania”, the court said, adding “the officials, who had attested mutations and as such were responsible for these illegalities, stood identified during the course of preliminary verification itself yet the report maintains stupendous silence about them”.
“The findings of the investigating agency are devoid of any reason and against the facts and circumstances evident from the record and hence cannot be accepted. It is very disturbing that the property under the control of Court of Wards has been plundered and usurped in a clandestine manner by those who were supposed and were under legal obligation to protect the same”, the court further observed.
Accordingly, the court returned the final report with the directions to the SSP ACB Jammu to carry out further investigation in accordance with law without any further loss of time before it is too late on account of supervening events and the purpose is lost in the process.
“Let a copy of this order be forwarded to the Chief Secretary so that he gets some idea about the actual working of the Revenue Department on ground”, the court said.
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