Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 10: Though the corruption has assumed alarming proportion in the State, the Government has not yet shed its habit of adopting half-hearted approach towards this menace. This is evident from the fact that seven courts of Additional District and Sessions Judges, which were conferred powers to expeditiously deal with the pending corruption cases, have not been provided required paraphernalia particularly the prosecuting officers ever since their creation about eight months back resulting into no significant progress in disposal of the cases.
The necessity to confer powers on the seven courts of Additional District and Sessions Judges to deal with corruption cases was felt by State High Court while hearing a Public Interest Litigation titled Mohammad Amin Beigh Versus State and Others in Srinagar Wing. Accordingly, on July 9, 2012, Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar issued directions to the State through Chief Secretary to take immediate steps for conferring powers on the courts of Additional District Judges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The ground being this direction was that the existing Anti-corruption Courts were finding it difficult to expeditiously dispose of the corruption cases because of huge pendency.
After sleeping over this direction of far reaching consequences vis-à-vis taking all the pending corruption cases to logical conclusions within shortest possible time, the Government in the month of August last year, issued notification empowering Additional District and Sessions Judge Kathua, Additional District and Sessions Judge Udhampur, Additional District and Sessions Judge Doda, Additional District and Sessions Judge Rajouri, Additional District and Sessions Judge Anantnag, Additional District and Sessions Judge Pulwama and Additional District and Sessions Judge Baramulla to hear the corruption cases, which were already sub-judice before the designated Anti-corruption Courts at Jammu and Srinagar.
After this notification, the corruption cases were transferred to these seven courts in order to facilitate their early disposal. However, the exercise of empowering these seven courts to deal with corruption cases has turned to be damp squib as necessary paraphernalia particularly the prosecuting officers have not been provided to these courts till date, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
“In this way the purpose of early disposal of corruption cases could not be achieved even eight months after the conferring of powers on seven courts”, they said, adding “though the counsels for the complaints have been visiting these courts on the fixed dates yet no orders are passed in the absence of prosecution agency”.
In reply to a question, sources said, “the Chief Prosecuting Officers and Prosecuting Officers in other courts in these districts cannot appear for the corruption cases in these designated court as they are directly under the control of Home Department while as Vigilance matters are handled by the General Administration Department”, adding “had there been seriousness on the part of Government at least these CPOs and POs could have been given additional responsibility of fighting corruption cases through a formal orders but this option has not been opted”.
Sources disclosed that State Vigilance Commission has sent a number of communications to the Chief Secretary and General Administration Department regarding deployment of Prosecuting Officers in the seven designated courts so that pending corruption cases could be taken to logical conclusion but unfortunately there is no positive response till date. “Even the concerned courts have intervened on the matter a number of times but it seems that Government has not shed its habit of adopting half-hearted approach towards the menace of corruption”, sources added.
It is pertinent to mention here that even the State Vigilance Commission has been working with skeleton staff due to the indifferent attitude of the Government, which otherwise oftenly gives statements about effectively handling the menace of corruption.
In the detailed order dated July 9, 2012, Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar had observed that State was under constitutional obligation to provide corruption free society and in order to attain such goal the State was duty bound to create more courts with required paraphernalia for exclusively dealing with the offences punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
“The menace of corruption has corroded the basic human values. It has created neo-rich class in the society. Corrupt people are parasites who swell themselves by sucking blood of the poorest of poor. The society gets de-stabilized by abominable corrupt practices indulged into by black-sheep in the society”, Justice Attar had further observed and stressed that some drastic steps were required to be taken for arresting the spread of corruption.
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