Karnataka Lokayukta corruption case: State government to constitute a Special Investigating Team
Belagavi: Karnataka government has decided to constitute a Special Investigating Team to investigate the corruption charges against some members of Lokayukta Y. Bhaskar Rao’s team.
Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) has issued an order appointing Additional Director General of Police (prisons) Kamal Pant as head of Special Investigative Team (SIT) to probe the charges of corruption in the Lokayukta.
The order was issued on Tuesday. Without setting any time limit for the completion of investigation, the government had directed the SIT to submit its report as early as possible. The team will go into allegations of corruption in the anti-corruption institution.
The request for a probe by SIT headed by an officer of not below the rank of ADGP had come from the Registrar, Lokayukta following reports in media about corruption in Lokayukta institution. There were also charges against the Lokayukta that some persons had demanded money from the executive engineer of Bengaluru Zilla Panchayat.
Subsequently, Lokayukta Justice Bhaskar Rao, suo moto had referred the investigation to Joint Commissioner (crime), Mr M Chandrashekar of City Crime Branch. However, the CCB officer had asked the Lokayukta to reconsider its decision.
Reacting to this, former Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde said that “investigating the corruption charges against Lokayukta is not the job of local police, state police cannot investigate the corruption charges within the Lokayukta institution”.
“State government has the power to order CBI probe on request of Lokayukta. Any charges against Independent agencies should be probed by another Independent agency and not by the sub-ordinate investigating agency,” Mr. Hedge said.
According to the provisions of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act-1946, the state can direct CBI probe in the matter. Request of the Lokayukta has enough to order CBI prove in this case, Mr. Hegde said.
If state government constitute SIT to probe charges against Lokayukta it would lead conflict of interest. In many cases, both Lokayukta police and state police have a conflict. Impartial and independent enquiry cannot be possible in such circumstance, Mr. Hegde said. Justice Hegde said that even the Governor has no power to intervene in the matter. Since power is vested with the state government, governor has no power to direct the state to order CBI probe, he remarked.
Contrary to Justice Hegde’s remarks, Home Minister K.J.George told Deccan Chronicle that state government has no jurisdiction to order CBI probe to investigate corruption charges against Lokayukta. Since Lokayukta is independent agency, the state cannot independently direct CBI probe, Mr. George said.
“Lokayukta has requested us to constitute SIT to probe the matter, on request of Lokayukta government will constitute SIT. Once SIT complete its investigation, Officer of SIT will submit the investigation report to the Lokayukta court,” Mr. George said.
