J-K anti-corruption panel chief quits over 145;interference146;

The chairman of the J-K Accountability Commission ,Justice RP Sethi, resigned today, plunging the fledgeling anti-corruption agency which has within its purview even the office of CM into a fresh crisis.

The chairman of the J-K Accountability Commission AC, Justice RP Sethi, resigned today, plunging the fledgeling anti-corruption agency which has within its purview even the office of CM into a fresh crisis.

Sethi8217;s resignation has come following a two-day abstention from duty after the Government failed to respond to his letter protesting the official interference in the commission8217;s work and demanding more infrastructural facilities. The letter had also sought an amendment in Section 13 of the sub-section of Accountability Commission Act which would authorise him to independently preside over the hearings of the three-member commission.

Differences between Sethi and the state government had intensified over the past month and came to a head when the government directed the Commission to shift its office to Srinagar in line with the official Darbar Move. Sethi refused and in a letter to the government, said the Commission being an autonomous body, could have its headquarters anywhere in the state.

Principal Secretary Law Akhter Kochak, however, said the government could not make an amendment in the Accountability Commission Act; only the legislature had the jurisdiction. 8216;8216;It is a legislative matter. The Government can8217;t do anything about it,8217;8217; Kochak said.

Sethi was appointed chairman of the J-K Accountability Commission in August last year but two months later, it received a setback as Sethi8217;s son was filmed taking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh, reportedly for hushing up the multi-crore Panchayat Electrification scam involving J-K Congress president Peerzada Muhammad Sayeed. The sting operation cast long shadows over the credibility of Commission which only deepened as the case of Peerzada came up for hearing.

With the takeover of Congress CM Ghulam Nabi Azad on November 2, the differences between Sethi and the government only intensified. Peerzada had reported the alleged 8216;8216;bias8217;8217; of the chairman to the Governor and requested that his case be shifted to the high court.

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