One branch of criminal law that is easily understood is the anti-corruption law. So, when a government tries to protect the corrupt, it’s noticed by everyone. The Karnataka government has just disbanded the Lokayukta police by a stroke of a pen.
Can you imagine a responsible government throwing out an entire anti-corruption police force in this manner? This government doesn’t seem to care about public opinion. It has presumed that the public is irrelevant and powerless and should suffer whatever is imposed on it.
The Karnataka government claims the Supreme Court’s judgment has required it to disband the Lokayukta police. This is a lie. The Lokayukta police in Karnataka was working independently without interference from the state government. It had a statewide presence and compared to other police departments and government agencies, it was doing a more efficient job.
Can you imagine our Supreme Court telling this government to close down such an efficient and independent police force? It did not and never would.
Does this government even read the judgments of a court properly? Under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 which is a nationwide law made by our Parliament, if a crime of corruption is thought to have been committed, the police must immediately spring into action, without waiting for anybody’s permission or approval. But under the new law, the state government’s bureaucrats will decide whether the police should even act against specific individuals accused of corruption! This is the height of shamelessness.
So when you hear this government telling you that the Supreme Court asked it to shut down the Lokayukta police wing and create a new police force that will come under the administrative control of the Chief Minister and his cabinet, you know what you have to do : say you regret that this government is so shameless.
(The writer is a Supreme Court advocate)
