BY BISWARAJ PATTNAIK, December 17, 2015 : Odisha has once again emerged as the pioneering state to come out with a laudable people-friendly law like the Odisha Special Courts Act, 2006, which was finally upheld by the Apex court of the country.

The December 10th verdict of the Supreme Court that the Odisha Special Courts Act-2006 is constitutionally perfect has taken lid off the high and mighty public servants indulging in corrupt practices. The two-judge bench of Justice Dipak Mishra and Justice Anil R. Dave made it clear in their order that the Act is flawless in seizure of disproportionate assets. The judges endorsed the state government’s stand that the disproportionate asset acquired by any public official is as horrific as “economic terrorism and the worst kind of social disaster”.

The high-flying corrupt public servants use the ill-gotten money to buy off witnesses, wipe out evidence, influence investigating officials (who are also vulnerable to tempting bribe baits) and above all employ exceptionally skilled lawyers with big money available. The big lawyers first subdue the state prosecutors with such gifts as are difficult to turn down. No wonder, investigating officers weaken the prosecution base so badly that the judiciary has nothing left to beat down the accused with and convict the crooks. The number of accused is impressively high and fairly assorted in class and creed, which is nice for publicity, but people tend to forget the matter soon. The high and mighty invariably manage to escape conviction after inordinately delayed trials, while brazenly enjoying the loot, posing as saints.

The Odisha Act of 2006 was specifically promulgated for speedy trial of cases against politicians and high rank government officials. Two special courts were set up in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack in 2008. The act made it possible for investigating agencies to attach and confiscate properties of the accused just to render them incapable of using the loot money or property to fight cases effectively. The special courts were free to can make daily hearings for truly speedy delivery of order.

Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have now copied the law with gratitude.

Some 52 petitions were filed by the accused with the Odisha High Court challenging the Act. The HC rejected the petitions saying it was constitutionally correct.

The corrupt ones had moved the Supreme Court which now has delivered this landmark judgment.

Under the new law, “assets”- both movable and immovable can be confiscated under judicial guidance even before conviction and even be sold. In case court orders acquittal, the proven good sold shall be given back at market value and interest. The whole idea is to create the best kind of deterrent only. In Odisha, the law applies only to the mighty and high-salary category officers, while in Bihar all classes are included.

Opponents of the Act cried ‘foul’ screaming articles 14,21 and 247 of the Constitution were being violated, because dirty money had turned them pinheads and they the high-priced defence lawyers had to do something to convince them that the best fight is being put up.

Incidentally, in Kandhamala senior official called Jalandhar Pradhan was accused of corruption and his house was converted into a hostel for tribal girls in 2011. Similarly, a retired IAS officer Sanjib Kumar Rai’s palatial house in Bhubaneshwar was confiscated to house a free homeopathic dispensary for the poor. A retired police chief of Bihar, one Narayan Mishra lost his fancy bungalow in Patna because of the Act to accommodate a school for children from deprived communities.

About two dozen such instances have been reported from Bihar and Odisha. The new law is bound to show great impact provided the investigating officials do not waver from principles of ethics. All the same,corruption has not diminished so far. Most of the convicted rogueswho have been convicted by trial courts are roaming the streets on bail. But for sure, the would-be corrupt official in the ‘mighty’ category will find it difficult to plan kills as joyously as before.

Undoubtedly, the public integrity “quotient” of Naveen Patnaik and Nitish Kumar have gone up considerably with such corruption-curbing steps. But in a country crippled
by corruption and judicial perversions, the “confiscation” laws of Odisha and Bihar can become a template for other states to replicate. What is
critically important is that the state agencies must provoke the masses to keep keen watch over the lifestyles of seemingly corrupt people through popular information dissemination exercises.

The people have easy access to the Vigilance Unit Offices within the districts so as to enable them to lodge complaints against corrupt public servants. With people’s tips, the Vigilance Department of Odisha, between 2008 and 2013, was able to register 402 criminal cases and launch prosecution against 705 public servants. There are 15 Special Vigilance Courts in the State for expeditious trial of cases. Believably, 424 public servants have been convicted by the Vigilance Courts and 145 of them have been dismissed from services.

Two Courts of Authorized Officer set up at Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to try confiscation proceedings, have initiated more than one hundred confiscation proceedings.

Since its inception the anti-graft wing has registered 98 corruption cases against 47 IAS officers and 11 cases against seven IPS officers. In the past five years, vigilance and special vigilance courts ordered confiscation of assets of two retired IAS officers Ramesh Chandra Behera and Sanjeeb Kumar Ray and a retired IPS officer Baidyanath Jena. The state government has taken possession of their property as per the Vigilance department. About 137 out of 503 convicted government employees have been dismissed already.

But it is also a fact that the number of mighty and high officials is abysmally low as always. Only the low-level conviction is big. That’s a depressing truth. Barring a very few, most of the corrupt biggies are still 5 scot free. The people are dying to see the mighty biting dust and begging for mercy. The arrogant rogues flaunting gloss and glitter made from stolen or robbed public money are unseen in prisons and police remand in conspicuous numbers.

There are many scoundrels among officials who behave as masters rather than servants despite being known as daylight robbers. They are not nabbed for disproportionate assets as they show investments in stocks, land and down to even dairy in backyard and most incredibly wives earning astronomically from boutiques and beauty parlours. A very upright, ruthlessly honest yet supremely capable IAS officer of Odisha told openly that public servants are not even expected to indulge in promoting any other profit activity than the salaried job for which they are sold to the state.

Such money fetching enterprises attract their full time mind and attention which is corruption without any doubt. Numerous officials with multiple palaces, immeasurable jewellery and countless luxury vehicles get away with the proof of earning from known sources of income which are prima facie illegal and unethical. This class is very cunning, slippery and crafty. The anti-corruption agencies must swoop on them first. Then only the number of convictions would become significantly big. They eat public money by way of salary and work for private gains to keep wives, children and relatives happy.

The vigilance department was considered highly credible during the tenure of Gopal Chandra Nanda and Anup Kumar Patnaik as director of Vigilance. Specifically, during Anup Patnaik’s tenure, the Special Courts Act was fiercely defended at the courts of law including the Apex one for which Anupbabu had personally worked day in and day out to ensure victory. The rogues caught in the vigilance net contested the state on the plea of their Right to Equality before law, Right to Life and Personal Liberties were violated if pre-conviction confiscation was executed. Further, they had also challenged the legislature’s right to make special laws. The Supreme Court proved the worth and value of the judiciary by upholding the Special courts act pioneered by Odisha. Naveen Patnaik regime has certainly become more popular than before like Nitish Kumar’s in Bihar.

But when Prakash Mishra was implicated, the vigilance department earned a bad name. Also the number of accusations, confiscations and convictions had gone down drastically. The public participation had touched an all time low and the department was looked down as unethical and unclean by analysts.

Several top bureaucrats have expressed anxiety over the fact of reinstatement of a thoroughly proven corrupt lady DSR who served in Puri where she permitted all the dead people, ghosts, poltergeists and the creatures without body and soul to execute land sale deeds. The wicked lady would disappear to land in Kolkata on requisition to have sale deeds executed for huge bribe, without informing the higher authorities as is the norm, and reappear at office as if nothing had ever happened. The no-nonsense boss found out the truth after a fail safe inquiry and organised her dismissal successfully. But there is news of her landing back in Dhenkanal as if by some devilish miracle. The vigilance department, the executive and the irresponsible media have all kept mum over the serious matter. The vigilance sleuths must reopen the case for tracing where and how something went wrong to usher back a discarded element back to the public service fold after having been thrown out for corruption.

The people of Odisha are happy that a good law has come in place; but they are not sure if it is used adequately to net many a robber roaming freely without fear or a sense of shame.

The Indians feel proud that their Judiciary is by and large unblemished, unbiased, fair and prudent, particularly when it comes to ruling public interest cases. The high and mighty among the

corrupt must be busy trying to find ways and means to create a corrupt pool of judges that can deliver relief on a quid pro quo basis. But this fear seems weird and impossible. The higher judiciary has been condemned in Tamilnadu madam Jailalitha’s case only because the trial court verdict was brazenly trashed by the High Court. Most certainly, the Apex Court will restore the full glory of the Indian judiciary soon.

Jai Hind!