BENGALURU: The High Court of Karnataka expressed anguish over the withdrawal of an order passed by the State government in 2023 to take back the inquiry entrusted by the State government in 2014 to the Karnataka Lokayukta, into alleged multi-crore irregularities in implementing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) across the State from 2007 to 2014.
Making clear that withdrawal of the order will not apply to cases in which the Lokayukta has already completed a probe and filed a chargesheet under the Prevention of Corruption Act and trial is on, Justice M Nagaprasanna clarified that the withdrawal order will apply only to cases pending investigation.
The Congress-led government had passed the order dated September 9, 2014, entrusting the inquiry to the Lokayukta to unearth irregularities in the implementation of the scheme during the BJP regime from 2007 to 2014, under Section 7 (2A) of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act.
This was after the Comptroller and Auditor General pointed out some irregularities in the report. Interestingly, the BJP government, during its fag end on March 28, 2023 -- more than eight years after the probe was ordered -- withdrew the earlier order by the Congress government.
“Any other interpretation would be putting a premium on the case of the state, which in one breath projects hundreds of crores to be the misappropriated amount and therefore, investigation would be required against public servants, and in the other breath, the orders that are passed earlier for conduct of investigation are blissfully withdrawn...” the court said.
Fake bills are generated, and persons who have never worked have been granted money. What is granted is not money belonging to officers, it is public money. Therefore, in cases where trial is on, it cannot be disturbed. In cases where the investigation is still pending in terms of the government order, they would cease forthwith, the court said. The court passed the order while partly allowing the petition filed by Mallayya Koravannavar, assistant director of agriculture, from Gadag.
Though court quashed the sanction order dated May 5, 2022, passed by the Commissioner of Agriculture to prosecute the petitioner for his alleged involvement in the scam, as he was not the appointing authority, the court granted liberty to the state government to accord sanction to prosecute the petitioner.