KOCHI: Coming down heavily on the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), the Kerala High Court on Monday said ‘Vigilance raj’ would prevail in Kerala if the VACB is given power to review the administrative decisions of the government.
The court made the observation when a petition filed by Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, seeking to quash an order of T'Puram Vigilance Court to conduct a probe against him in the case related to the appointment of VACB director N Shankar Reddy, came up for hearing.
The court urged the government to think seriously and decide whether the VACB should be allowed to reign over it.
“It appears some of the Vigilance Special Judges are not aware of the scope of their functions under the Prevention of Corruption Act. I have come across several complaints forwarded ‘mechanically and senselessly,’ either for preliminary enquiry or for investigation," the court said.
The court termed unfortunate attempts to ‘verify’ the legality of the government’s decision to promote police officers. “That is not a subject within the power of a special court established under the PC Act,” the court said.
“It is not known why the complainant did not challenge promotion of other police officers. The report by VACB inspector C S Vinod has gone to the extent of ‘deciding’ on the legality of the appointment made by the government,” the court said.