KOCHI: The Vigilance probe ordered by the Kerala Government into the LIFE Mission Project at Wadakkanchery in Thrissur has lost its relevance with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launching a probe after registering a case invoking the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).The Central agency took a case on its own on Friday, three days after the Vigilance was asked to probe the bribery allegations and deals with the UAE-based charity organisation Red Crescent related to the state’s `20-crore housing scheme for the homeless.
Legal experts say, in this particular case, a Vigilance inquiry does not fit in because the role of the state government itself is under scanner. Vigilance inquiry is only a process of preparing a preliminary report as per the Vigilance manual, giving the state the power to decide whether to register a case or not based on that. The CBI has registered the case under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which is the specific legal procedure to conduct a criminal investigation into the incident.
“This is not a case for a state agency like Vigilance to probe. In fact, the Vigilance probe is an eyewash. The state government can always reject the preliminary report saying there are no specific details warranting registration of a case. The CBI has registered a case under Section 154 of CrPC which is all that legally required to launch a detailed probe to book the offenders,” said Kerala High Court former judge B Kemal Pasha.
Former director-general of prosecution T Asaf Ali said there was no point in ordering a Vigilance inquiry into the incident in which a transfer of funds had taken place from abroad for a state-government project violating Central statutes.
CM can be brought under purview of probe
“Vigilance has no role at all. In fact, Section 35 of the FCRA specifically brings the state chief minister under the purview of investigation. This is a proper FCRA violation case which should be probed by a Central agency like CBI. Using the Vigilance to probe the irregularities under the Prevention of Corruption Act is an attempt to help those involved in it,” Asaf Ali added. Senior lawyer and former CBI counsel S Sreekumar said the Central agency has the legal sanctity to register a case under the FCRA in a particular incident. “The Vigilance has its limitations to probe a case in which fund transfer has taken place from abroad,” he said.
FILES TO BE RETURNED
Vigilance to return files to the LSG Department once preliminary probe is over.
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