CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has issued notices to the Ministries of Law and Justice, Home, Personnel, Public Grievance and Pensions after a writ petition was filed seeking declaration of Section 14(1)(h) of Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 as ultra vires to the provisions of the Constitution.
A division bench of the HC comprising CJ Vineet Saran and Justice BR Sarangi has asked the Ministries to submit their responses within four weeks. The petition was filed by Dr Manoj Kumar Fogla and Jagadananda.
Quoting the provision of Section 14 (1) (h) of Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, the petitioners urged the HC that Clause (h) of Section 14(1) of the Act declares as ‘public servant’ the director, manager, secretary or other officers of every other society or association of persons or trust who receive donations in excess of `10 lakh from foreign sources by being registered under the FCRA Act, 2010.
This deemed categorisation of ‘public servant’, the petition stated, is arbitrary and irrational and has no reasonable nexus with the object sought to be achieved by the Act. Besides, person defined as ‘public servant’ is not conferred with any privilege or access to public resources in comparison to persons categorised in Clause (a) to (g) of the Act.
The Act provides that any person referred to in this clause shall be deemed to be a public servant under Clause (c) of Section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly.
Indicating the matter in detail, the petitioners’ counsel Gouri Mohan Rath appealed to the court to declare the provisions ultra vires.