May 6 No need for govt sanction to probe babus in graft cases: SC. Congrats to Dr. Swamy for getting the landmark SC judgement. The SC held as unconstitutional the provision which makes sanction of competent authority mandatory for CBI.The SC held as unconstitutional the provision which makes sanction of competent authority mandatory for CBI. While we can await reviewing the fine points of law when the full judgement becomes available, at the outset, congratulations must be offered to Dr. Subramanian Swamy, the indefatigable fighter for probity in public life. The removal of the need for govt. sanction to probe officers above the rank of Jt. Secretaries will have far-reaching consequences in governance. Babus participating with politico-s in framing the nations policies, will no longer look forward to favors from their political bosses. Babus can perform their duties without fear or favor and under the provisions of the laws of the land. We have had numerous instances of reports of Babus currying favors from political bosses. A recent case that stands out is Pulok Chatterjee, Spl. Secretary in PMO who was reported in not highly flattering terms about how he tried to care for Sonia Gandhi in USA. Such practices should stop and the integrity of the steel frame should be restored. Politicos should also stop interfering with the independence of the Babus to offer their advice objectively, in the interests of the nation and not succumbing to pressures of pecuniary benefit-seeking loots of the 2G or Coalgate type. Kalyanaraman Agencies New Delhi, May 06, 2014 First Published: 13:35 IST(6/5/2014) Last Updated: 13:39 IST(6/5/2014) No need for govt sanction to probe babus in graft cases: SC The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act that mandates the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take prior sanction of the government before investigating an officer of the rank of joint secretary and above in corruption cases. The apex courts Constitution Bench of Chief Justice RM Lodha, justice AK Patnaik, justice Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya, justice Dipak Misra and justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla said Section 6A discriminates and divides the bureaucracy into two sets of officers and shields those at the senior level. All government officials have to be treated equally and have to face the same process of inquiry in graft cases, the SC said. The apex court said the status of top bureaucrats is of no relevance in the offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The SC said the government can not protect one of them while leaving the other to fend for himself. A corrupt servant is a corrupt servant and corruption is enemy of the nation, it said. The verdict reading down Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, came on a petition by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy. (With IANS and PTI inputs) hindustantimes/india-news/no-need-for-govt-sanction-to-probe-babus-in-graft-cases-sc/article1-1215974.aspx SC gives CBI more teeth to fight corruption, says need no permission to probe corrupt government officials Press Trust of India | New Delhi | May 6, 2014 2:00 pm SUMMARY The SC held as unconstitutional the provision which makes sanction of competent authority mandatory for CBI. The Supreme Court on Tuesday held as invalid and unconstitutional the legal provision which makes sanction of competent authority mandatory for CBI to probe a corruption case against an officer of joint secretary-rank or above, saying it has the propensity of shielding the corrupt. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice R M Lodha delivered the judgement after examining Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DSPEA), which protects top bureaucrats from being investigated in corruption cases without prior approval. “We hold Section 6A of the Act, which requires Central Government’s approval for the offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) to make inquiry against officer of the rank of joint secretary and above, as invalid and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution,” the bench, also comprising justices A K Patnaik, S J Mukhopadhaya, Dipak Misra and F M I Kalifulla, said. It said there cannot be any classification of officers for the purpose of inquiry of offence under the PCA. “The corrupt public servants, higher or lower in rank, are the birds of same feather and have to be dealt with equally,” the court observed. Maintaining that “corruption is an enemy of nation”, the bench said that it is difficult to make classification of officers in graft cases as it is against the mandate of the PCA. It said that the prior approval under Section 6A would result, indirectly, in halting the investigation and if the CBI is not allowed to carry on the preliminary inquiry how the investigation can proceed. “We are of the view that there can be no distinction between certain class of officials for inquiry of the offences under the PCA. “How can the status of officials be of any relevance in the offence under PCA and any distinction by way of Section 6A of the DSPEA makes it violative of Article 14,” the bench said, adding that the protection as provided in Section 6A has the propensity of shielding the corrupt. The court said there cannot be any exemption from equal treatment and any official facing allegations of corruption has to be treated with the same process of inquiry. indianexpress/article/india/india-others/sc-gives-cbi-more-teeth-to-fight-corruption-says-need-no-permission-to-probe-corrupt-government-officials/ Comment Anonymous: I am afraid this judgement is bad for the Honest officers.The dishonest will find ways to protect themselves but the honest will get victimized.While one has no sympathy with corrupt and so if there is a case of bribery there no sanction dictum is valid , where there is no bribery issue involved but a policy decision is perceived to result in loss to exchequer and the officer is prosecuted it would be a case of witch hunting. There 2 cases of this kind right at the moment - Parekhs case and the case of Shyamal Ghosh. Modi Govt - am assuming that he will be successful - will find that they are starting with a great handicap as the Officers will refrain from making any recommendation and decision. You have the classic case of a former SEBI Chairman known to be a person of high integrity being investigated by CBI - just proving my point that the honest will be at the receiving end. a judgement too dicey to rejoice. Incidentally the judges have the protection under the law and so Balakrishnans and sabharwals can escape . I wish they took away their own immunity - that would have been fair and equitable. Posted Yesterday by Srinivasan Kalyanaraman 1 View comments RajMay 6, 2014 at 7:39 AM The objection by former CEC is totally unfounded. Yes it is applicable to cowards. An IAS officer is not a clerk without responsibility which they all like to be. Let them be courageous and be responsible for their actions. If it all the SC has given some spine to these gentlemen so be it. Otherwise they were blaming the politicians but quietly participating in the loot with impunity. Reply Bharatkalyan97 A homage to Hindu civilization.
Posted on: Thu, 08 May 2014 08:13:44 +0000
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