PIL seeking prosecution of Sr IAS, KAS officers in corruption cases
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, May 17: In the Public Interest Litigations (PILs) seeking prosecution of Senior IAS and KAS officers involved in the corruption cases, Division Bench of the State High Court comprising Justice Mansoor Ahmed Mir and Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar today directed Commissioner Secretary General Administration Department (GAD) and Commissioner of Vigilance to submit the status of the FIRs indicated in the PILs within two weeks.
The Division Bench further directed the Registry to convey this order to the Secretary General Administration Department and Commissioner of Vigilance and list the PIL immediately after two weeks.
These PILs have been filed by two social activists namely Sheikh Mohd Shafi, son of former MP Sheikh Abdul Rehman and Prof S K Bhalla seeking directions to the State Vigilance Organization (SVO) to file charge-sheets against high-profile accused in the FIRs relating to Canal power house, illegal appointments in local bodies, rural electrification scam, Gulmarg land scam and FIRs against Babu Ram, then CDPO Doda and Ghulam Hassan Wani, Joint Registrar Cooperative Kashmir, in view of the deemed sanction for prosecution as per the law laid down by the Supreme Court in case titled Dr Subramanian Swamy Vs Dr Manmohan Singh and another decided on January 31, 2012.
After hearing Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed, Division Bench observed, “before issuing notices to the respondents, it is deemed appropriate to direct Secretary GAD and Commissioner of Vigilance to submit the status of the FIRs mentioned in the PIL”.
Advocate Ahmed drew the attention of the Court to the landmark judgment passed by the Supreme Court of India wherein a limit of three months has been fixed for the sanctioning authority to accord sanction in corruption cases.
In the petitions it has been mentioned that in FIR No. 8/2009 VOK (Gulmarg land scam), it has been admitted by the General Administration Department that case was received on December 22, 2009 and the prosecution was sanctioned vide Govt Order No.02-GAD (VIG) of 2010 dated January 18, 2010.
“The competent authority accorded sanction for the prosecution of only small fries but is sitting over the sanction of Mehboob Iqbal, then Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Farooq Ahmed Shah, then Additional DC Baramulla and Baseer Ahmed Khan, then Deputy Commissioner Baramulla”, the petitioners said while seeking directions of the Court to the respondents to disclose the reasons for such a prolonged delay in granting sanction against senior officers despite the fact that State land worth crores of rupees was illegally transferred by misusing the provisions of Roshani Act.
The case FIR No. 17/2010 against Ghulam Hassan Wani, then Joint Registrar Cooperative Audit was received by GAD on December 26, 2011 for prosecution sanction and the Commissioner of Vigilance was requested on January 17, 2012 to furnish comments on the representation of the accused officer but the same have not been furnished till date.
The petitioners have also highlighted the inaction of State in sanctioning prosecution in case FIR No 18/2005 VOK relating to much publicized Rural Electrification Scam in which Syed Asgar Ali, then Director Rural Development Kashmir and presently sitting PDP MLC was allegedly the prime accused along with BDOs Zaffar Altaf, Mohd Yousaf Bhat, Mohd Yousaf Ganie Abdul Hamid Wani and Mohd Saleem Khanday.
In this case, the proposal for sanction was received in the GAD on January 15, 2008 and the case was processed for orders of the competent authority but the same is under submission since January 14, 2009.
In the case FIR No 22/2009 VOJ registered against Babu Ram, then CDPO Doda, Vigilance Organization sought sanction on August 16, 2011 and the case was referred by the GAD to Social Welfare Department on January 12, 2012 for comments which are still awaited.
Similarly, in FIR No 21/2006 sanction was accorded against the small employees of Local Bodies but the same is yet to be granted against AK Raina, then Director Local Bodies whose representation for declining sanction is pending before the GAD.
“The respondents have double standards while according sanction in terms of Section 6 of Prevention of Corruption Act”, the petitioners alleged, adding “even Chief Minister declined sanction for prosecution of a sitting Cabinet Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir, who was allegedly involved in making 53 illegal and backdoor appointments in J&K Legal Service Authority”.
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