Probe in major scams held up as GAD sits over SVO’s reminders

Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 25: In a setback to the drive against corruption, the State Government has been sleeping over repeated reminders by the State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) to the General Administration Department (GAD) for early vacation of stay orders in 44 anti-corruption cases of very significant nature to allow the Vigilance to conduct investigations and produce their challan in the court of law.
Several top Government officers including IAS, IFS, senior doctors, Head of Departments (HoDs) and others holding significant postings in various offices were involved in corruption cases and irregularities, whose investigations has been stayed by different courts including the High Court and the trial courts and despite reminders by the Vigilance Organisation to the GAD, the Department hasn’t initiated steps to take up the matter with the Advocate General to plead before the courts to contest the stay.
Sources told the Excelsior that a total of 44 cases in Jammu and Kashmir which included much hyped Roshni scam, Asha kits scandal, Government Dental College, Srinagar case and other such cases involving top officers in corruption, scandals, irregularities etc were pending before the Vigilance Organization at various stages as the Government Advocates haven’t pleaded the cases before the courts for vacation of stay orders given on investigations and challan.
“Some of the cases have been stayed since 2010 i.e. for six years now. There were other cases, whose investigations or presentation of challan has been stayed for more than four to six years but the Government Advocates despite repeated reminders sent to the GAD by the Vigilance Organisation, haven’t taken up the cases in the courts for vacation of stay orders,” sources pointed out.
They said that even during 2016, the Vigilance Organisation had sent three reminders to the GAD-first on January 22, second on March 16 and the third on December 21-mentioning in detail the seriousness of the cases as they involved top officers and nature of irregularities and misuse of official position was also very serious.
Significantly, both GAD and Vigilance Organisation, fall under the Departments held by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Giving details, sources said a total of 44 cases involving top and influential officers in higher ranks with serious corruption charges have so far escape the investigations due to lackadaisical approach of the Government Advocates, who haven’t taken up the matter seriously.
“Investigations and presentation of challan in the cases have been stayed by various courts but the Government Advocates didn’t take up the matter (with the courts) to get the stay vacated prompting the Vigilance Organisation to sent reminder after reminder to the GAD but that too didn’t seem to be working so far,” sources said.
In 26 cases (15 in Jammu division and 11 in Kashmir), the courts have stayed investigation/proceedings while in 18 cases (14 in Jammu and four in Kashmir division), trial court proceedings have been stayed.
Noting that the cases, whose investigations have been stayed, were of very important nature, sources said they involved top officers of various ranks and included much publicized cases like Roshni scam, Asha Kits scandal, Dental College Srinagar case etc.
Significantly, some of the cases were stayed as back as August 13, 2009 and many others in 2010 and since then the Government officers/officials against whom there were charges of serious nature were going scot free as the Vigilance Organis-ation was unable to carry out investigations of them.
“Some of the Government officers involved in the cases were at the verge of retirement,” sources pointed out.
They said it was job of the Government Advocates to vigorously pursue the cases in the courts and follow the stay cases on regular basis to try and get them vacated so that the Vigilance Organisation was able to take up investigations and produce challan in the courts to nail the corrupt officers.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here