KOCHI: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Monday observed the government should evolve a clear policy in segregating cases which are to be prosecuted under the Prevention of Corruption Act and those which need to be dealt with by the Vigilance Tribunal.
The Bench observed Rule 4 of the Vigilance Tribunal Rules did not empower the state government to arbitrarily pick and choose some corruption cases involving government servants to be enquired into by the Vigilance Tribunal constituted under the Rules and other cases to be prosecuted before the Court of Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge (Vigilance Court) under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act).
The state government shall specifically observe in the order the reason for not referring a case to the prosecution under the PC Act against the public servants concerned and taking it for enquiry to the Vigilance Tribunal. The Bench issued the order while disposing of the petition filed by K Karunanidhi of Edava challenging the authority of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. The petitioners contended the Vigilance department was considered to be a distinct entity and had nothing to do with the police force in the state.