New state rule to hasten graft probe against ministers

Maharashtra will soon be the first state in India to ensure that the police get permission to investigate corruption charges against ministers and bureaucrats within three months from the time the Anti-Corruption Bureau seeks the state’s go-ahead.

Maharashtra will soon be the first state in India to ensure that the police get permission to investigate corruption charges against ministers and bureaucrats within three months from the time the Anti-Corruption Bureau seeks the state’s go-ahead.

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Currently, the police cannot start such a probe until they get clearance from the government.

The directive, initiated by additional chief secretary (home) Amitabh Rajan, has been drafted on the lines of the one planned by the Union department of personnel and training, wherein ACB cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act get permission after a three-month period, even if the files are pending. It will also set deadlines for the police to take action.

Home department sources said the file got a nod from chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on September 4. Chief secretary JK Banthia, who received the file on September 6, has sent it to the advocate general for opinion so that it is legally sound, before it is put to the state Cabinet for a nod.

Two types of cases fall under the regulation — the one where the ACB has received a complaint or laid a trap, and the second where inquiry is over and permission is needed for prosecution. As of August 31, 58 cases are awaiting nod from 20 departments, of which the most cases — 18 — are with the revenue department.