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It can be truly called an Anna Hazare effect and it is happening right here in Maharashtra.
To control the rising cases of corruption by government employees, the State Government is planning to introduce an Act, which will create special courts for trying corruption cases and confiscate property of the officers, amassed by wrong means.
Ever since Mr Prithviraj Chavan assumed office as Chief Minister in November 2010, the idea of creating a model Act was making the rounds of the various departments in the State Secretariat. But the agitation by Mr Hazare has forced the government machinery to speed up the process. The Act is being modelled along the lines of Bihar Special Courts Act, 2009.
In February, Mr Hazare had appealed to Mr Chavan to create an Act similar to the Bihar Act for controlling corruption in the State.
The Bihar Act was one of the original innovations of the Nitish Kumar Government and it was hailed as a path-breaking one. It empowers the State Government to set up fast-track courts, which have jurisdiction similar to the sessions court.
Based on prima-facie evidence, the Act empowers the State Government to confiscate the assets accumulated by public servants, disproportionate to their known sources of income. In a few instances in Bihar, the confiscated properties were converted into schools by the State Government.
A senior official in the Maharashtra Government told Business Line that the Law and Judiciary Department has accepted all the provisions mentioned in the Bihar Act and has given its clearance. The proposal has now been referred to the Home Department, the official said.
“As it does not directly affect the political leadership in Maharashtra, it would be comfortable pushing a Bill in the legislature, which will enact the law,” the official said.
The law was enacted in 2009 in Bihar but it was challenged in the Patna High Court and the Supreme Court. Both the courts upheld the Act as being constitutional and rejected the petitions of people opposing the Act. Therefore, the Act is ‘well tested' and can be implemented in Maharashtra, the official said.
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