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| HC directs SAC to hear ex-minister before proceeding against him | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 12: A high court division bench of Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar and Justice Tashi Rabstan today directed SAC to provide an opportunity of hearing to ex-PWD minister Abdul Majid Wani before proceeding on the complaint against him.
In his complaint, one Bal Krishan has levelled serious allegations of siphoning of several crores of SFC funds by the contractor-turned-politician.
Disposing of the petition filed by Wani along with his father Ghulam Ahmed Wani, who was no more now, the bench also directed that the further SAC proceedings would depend upon the findings recorded by it. After hearing the counsels of the petitioner, the complainant and SAC, the bench directed SAC that at the time of hearing about the jurisdiction and competence of SAC against the petitioner, the status report submitted by the designating officer may not be looked into by the commission.
The petitioners had challenged the provisions of sections 9, 11, 20, 21, 23, 28, 30 and 31 of SAC and also the SAC orders whereby it had directed then DIG Gulzar Singh Slathia to probe into the complaint.
The petitioner's counsel argued that SAC should not have proceeded further in the matter without first deciding the issue of its jurisdiction and competence and that all the orders passed in the complaint and the status report of the ex-DIG were required to be set aside.
The complainant's counsel submitted that SFC authorities from time to time had conferred undue benefits upon the petitioners in view of their political clout.
It was submitted that while then DIG Gulzar Singh Slathia was asked to probe into the allegations levelled in the complaint, in his status report the inquiry officer had made startling revelations, alleging that Wani had managed NoC from the state forest corporation when there was a huge recovery of Rs 177 lakh pending against him in the records of SFC. On the basis of this NoC, Wani had successfully contested the election from Doda assembly constituency and when this NoC issue became public, SFC placed a small employee under suspension. It was submitted that this finding in the status report of then DIG was just a tip of the iceberg as IO in his status report had also referred to various instances where undue favour was accorded to the petitioners thereby resulting in huge loss to SFC. He said the IO had sought more time from SAC in submitting his final report, but in the meanwhile the petitioners in order to thwart the entire exercise filed the petition in 2009 and got the interim directions which stalled the entire proceedings before SAC, praying for the dismissal of the writ petition.
SAC's counsel said the commission would afford opportunity of hearing to Majid Wani to project his objections about the jurisdiction and competence of the commission. SAC had not till date initiated regular inquiry in the complaint, he added. After hearing them, the bench directed that SAC would afford an opportunity of hearing to Majid Wani about its jurisdiction and competence to proceed with the complaint. The bench also directed that SAC's further proceedings would depend upon the finding recorded by it and at the time of hearing about the jurisdiction and competence of the Commission against the surviving petitioner, the status report submitted by the Designating Officer may not be looked into by the commission. With these observations, the bench disposed of the writ petition. (JNF) |
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