Bihar sets the trend with assets seizure

Bihar had to wait a year between passing its legislation and having it sanctioned by the President but since then its special courts have ordered seizure of three officers’ properties. Sixteen other cases are before the courts.

The Bihar Special Courts Act was passed in 2009 and was implemented from mid-2010 following the President’s assent. IAS officer S S Verma,former minor irrigation secretary and currently under suspension,was among the first three whose property was ordered confiscated. The property in Patna is worth over Rs 1.4 crore; Verma has now lost his appeal against the order while those of the other two are pending.

The properties of the other two officers were ordered confiscated before Verma’s. In December,Raghuvansh Kunwar,a former supply inspector facing charges that include bribery,became the first such officer. The government issued a notice to confiscate his Sitamarhi property and was planning to open a school on it when he went into appeal.

In June,a vigilance court ordered the confiscation of properties worth Rs 47.66 lakh,accumulated by Girish Kumar,a former Patna Treasury assistant.

Among those served showcause notices why their properties should not be confiscated are retired IAS officer Kalika Prasad (vice-chairman with the now dissolved Patna Regional Development Authority) and former DGP Narayan Mishra.

Madhya Pradesh,meanwhile,has complained about the delay in getting its law cleared. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan wrote to the Prime Minister last week that the M P Vishesh Nyayalaya Vidheyak,2011,which the state had sent the Home Ministry on April 13,has not yet got the President’s assent. “The inordinate delay in granting assent by the GoI is unnecessarily depriving the state of an effective tool to combat corruption,” Chouhan wrote.

Himachal Pradesh’s new law comes at a time when the pace at which it has been investigating cases has been questioned in court. The Himachal Pradesh Special Courts (Attachment and Confiscation of Property) Bill,2011,stipulates that such courts,to be headed by a district and sessions judge or an additional district and sessions judge,should ensure every case is disposed of within a year.

However,in corruption cases against 37 officers — IAS,state administrative services,police, engineers and a state drug controller — the investigations have not been completed in time. With sanction for their prosecution too delayed,the High Court recently called it “zero tolerance to corruption’s zero tolerance”. The court passed at least half a dozen orders pulling up the government and vigilance wings.

The Bill was passed shortly after Anna Hazare broke his fast for a strong Lokpal Bill,a year ahead of the elections,and at a time when charges of corruption and benami land transactions have become potential weapons against the ruling BJP. The Congress,which has 23 members out of 68,supported the Bill.

“We welcome the law but the question is,why now,when several public servants have already acquired assets disproportionate to their known sources of income in these years of BJP rule?” said Kuldeep Pathania,Congress spokesman,adding that existing laws should have been enough.

Director General of Police Diljeet Singh,however,said,“The existing laws don’t have a specific provisions to attach the property of public servants. During the investigations or even trials,which invariably take years to end up in a conviction,most of them could not be prevented from enjoying the fruits of these properties. Now,once an FIR is registered,the property will be attached by the court.” If the charges are proved,the government can permanently seize the property.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said the legislation was drafted after consultations with top legal experts including Arun Jaitely. “It’s a legally sound law to deal with corruption… Gaps,if any are found during implementation,will be plugged through amendments,” he said.

(Inputs from Milind Ghatwai in Bhopal)