Bengaluru: In yet another setback to the state government with regard to its newly-created Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday made it very clear that the police officers attached to the Karnataka Lokayukta can continue with the investigation of cases under investigation and pending sanction before it.
The division bench, headed by Chief Justice S.K. Muherjee, passed the order while hearing a PIL filed by one Chidananda Urs and Advocates' Assocation Bangalore challenging the creation of ACB.
“The interim order, already, granted on April 7, 2016, that the cases under investigation and pending sanction at the Police Wing of the Karnataka Lokayukta should not be transferred to the newly formed Anti Corruption Bureau shall continue. However, this will ‘not prevent’ the police officers attached to the Karnataka Lokayukta to continue with the investigation in those cases,” the court ordered.
Urs, a city-based advocate and later the advocates’ body had filed the PIL challenging the notification issued on March 14 creating ACB. The state had said that it created ACB, in its effort to provide transparent and efficient administration, while stating that the Karnataka Lokayukta Act 1984 (KLA) and the Anti Corruption Act 1988 (PC Act) are two different legislations.
While ordering that cases before Lokayukta shall not be transferred to ACB, the court on previous occasion had also made it clear to the state government that any other action shall, however, abide by the result of the writ petition (PIL).
Following the creation of ACB, allegedly several hundreds of cases being probed under the Prevention of Corruption Act by the Lokayukta Police were set to be transferred to ACB which primarily included several high-profile cases. However, with the HC’s interim order has put complete break on it while empowering Lokayukta police to continue its probe into the case pending before it including cases awaiting sanction to probe.
