The Orissa High Court has quashed the Lokayukta’s order for a probe by the state vigilance department against expelled BJD MLA and former minister Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy on grounds that the complainant and investigating agency in a quasi-judicial process cannot be the same, his lawyer Pitambar Acharya said Thursday.
In response to Panigrahy's petition challenging the legal validity of the Lokayukta order and alleging that the anti-corruption body had clearly acted in excess of jurisdiction and authority and purely on extraneous considerations and facts, a division bench of chief justice S Muralidhar and justice Biswanath Rath on Wednesday quashed the Lokayukta order.
The Lokayukta had issued the order in December last year on a complaint filed by deputy superintendent of police (Vigilance), Ranjan Kumar Das observing that the complaint revealed how Panigrahy amassed assets disproportionate to his known source of income. While issuing the order, the Lokayukta had observed that the complaint prima facie revealed that Panigrahy by resorting to corrupt practice had amassed assets disproportionate to his known source of income. The Lokayukta had asked the vigilance department to submit a report within two months.
In his petition, Panigrahy had said that Lokayukta is supposed to proceed in a manner to ascertain whether there exists a prima facie case. "However, the Lokayukta jumped to the conclusion that the complaint of the vigilance department revealed a prima facie case. In the absence of granting of opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, the finding of Lokayukta is perverse, illegal and unsustainable under law," he alleged.
{{/usCountry}}In his petition, Panigrahy had said that Lokayukta is supposed to proceed in a manner to ascertain whether there exists a prima facie case. "However, the Lokayukta jumped to the conclusion that the complaint of the vigilance department revealed a prima facie case. In the absence of granting of opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, the finding of Lokayukta is perverse, illegal and unsustainable under law," he alleged.
{{/usCountry}}Panigrahy also alleged in his petition that he had already been prejudiced as a rumour was floated around that the chief minister had made a reference to the Lokayukta to initiate a proceeding against him.
Panigrahy is currently in jail after the Odisha CID arrested him on December 3 in connection with a corruption case.
It was alleged that Panigrahy had collected money from people on behalf of Akash Pathak, son of suspended IFS officer Abhay Pathak, with the false promise of providing jobs in Tata Motors.