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| SAC continues to remain toothless | | Chairperson meets Minister, pitches for restoration of powers | | Peerzada Ummer
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Apr 20: What seems to be a greater challenge ahead for the new government in J&K is empowering the State Accountability Commission (SAC) which was established to rein in corrupt practices.
SAC's chairperson Justice (retd.) B A Khan met the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Abdul Haq Khan Wednesday, telling him that the Commission is in effective with its vitality undermined.
Justice Khan had earlier informed the government that he will not hesitate to resign from his post if the body is not given proper teeth to function.
Justice Khan had informed the government that he will wait till the next session of the Legislative Assembly and if no serious effort is made both by the ruling as well as the opposition camp, he would not hesitate to resign from the post.
Reports informed that Justice Khan wants that the Commission be given a semi-autonomous status and proper infrastructure which includes its own investigating agency, prosecuting agency and inquiry agency. In terms of Section 4 of the Jammu and Kashmir Accountability Commission Act, the appointment of Chairperson and the Members is to be made by the Governor on the recommendation of a Committee consisting of Chief Minister, Speaker of Legislative Assembly, Chief Justice of State High Court, Law Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly. In September, 2015, Governor NN Vohra, in exercise of the powers vested in him under Section of the Jammu and Kashmir Accountability Commission Act, 2002, appointed Justice Khan as chairperson and Justice JP Singh and Justice BA Kirmani as members of the SAC for five years.
The SAC had remained defunct for the last two years because all its members had completed their term of office. The SAC at present, as per its chairman, is not functioning at all. Reports informed that scores of amendments made by successive regimes in the SAC Act resulted in exclusion of the public administration from the jurisdiction of SAC. The Act, that was ought to put bigwigs under the scrutiny, has been undermined by the Government. Its jurisdiction has been taken away by excluding public servants, Government companies, public sector undertakings and universities which in public perception are cases of suspected corruption. Now its jurisdiction has been limited to political class only against whom there are no complaints being received at all. Reports informed that in 2011, the political class and bureaucracy seemed to have joined hands that time to defeat the Act due to which it has been rendered impotent now. Meanwhile, as per the insiders, the Commission at present is ill-equipped in both manpower and other necessary infrastructure. There is no investigating agency attached to it. |
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