PIL Highlighting delay in Prosecution Sanctions in corruption cases
DB appreciates AG for Prompt filing of 04 compilations containing list of officers
JKUT (Jammu), December-16-2021-( JNF):- A Division Bench of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Javed Iqbal Wani appreciated the efforts put in by the office of the Advocate General in collecting and compiling the information as sought for by the Division Bench pursuant to its last orders regarding the list of the officers including the officers of All India Service against whom the investigation stood finalized in the corruption cases but are awaiting the prosecution for want of prosecution sanctions under Prevention of Corruption Act.
When the much publicized Public Interest Litigation (PIL No.9/2012) titled Sheikh Mohammad Shafi & Anr V/s Union of India & Ors came up for hearing, the Advocate General D.C. Raina assisted by AAG Raman Sharma in the open court filed a status report in the shape of 04 compilations.
The Advocate General apprised the Division Bench that the first compilation gives the picture of the cases where the Govt. has granted sanction for the prosecution of the officers year-wise with full details of every officer, the second compilation was regarding the FIRs registered with the Anti-Corruption Bureau, wherein sanctions are pending with the GAD, third compilation was regarding the Regular Departmental Actions (RDA) taken in the last two years i.e. 2020 & 2021 and the last compilation was regarding the advisories and alert notes issued by the GAD to the officers of the various Departments.
The Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal took on record the four compilations filed by the Advocate General in the open court. The Advocate General in the open court submitted that the message is very loud from the Government that there shall be no delay in grant of prosecution sanctions in corruption cases and the message is also very clear from the top echelons of the Government that no tainted person shall be assigned the sensitive/prime positions.
The Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal after going through the four compilations and after considering the submissions made by Advocate General D.C. Raina in the open court observed, “we appreciate the efforts put in by the office of the Advocate General in collecting and compiling all the above information within the short span of time and to place it before the Court”.
The Division Bench further observed that Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed with Advocates Rahul Raina and Supriya Chouhan appearing for the petitioners have also been provided with the set of above four compilations have prayed for and is allowed a month’s time to go through the above reports and to come up with their suggestions on the next date.
It is worthwhile to mention herein that in PIL No.9/2012 titled Sheikh Mohammad Shafi and Anr V/s Union of India & Ors, the petitioners highlighted the slow approach of the Government while granting prosecution sanctions in corruption cases and because of the indulgence shown by the Division Bench several significant orders came to be passed in the instant PIL which resulted in grant of prosecution sanctions in various scams including Gulmarg land scam. Even the appointment of the then Chairman J&K BOSE was quashed in the instant PIL and apart from this the Division Bench is monitoring several departmental inquiries in the said PIL. JNF