The Karnataka High Court on Thursday August 11, disbanded the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the state. In 2016, the police powers of the Lokayukta – the top anti-corruption agency at the time – were taken away, and the ACB was formed through an executive government order under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 by the then CM Siddaramaiah.
On Thursday, a division bench comprising Justice B Veerappa and Justice KS Hemalekha set aside the 2016 executive orders through which the ACB was formed, observing that it was “unjustified” as the Prevention of Corruption Act was already covered under the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984. The court further observed that when the Lokayukta was already created to conduct impartial and independent investigation into allegations of corruption in the government, there was no justification to withdraw its powers in the first place. In its order, the court restored the Lokayukta police wing’s powers to investigate corruption cases, and directed that all pending cases be transferred to the Lokayukta police wing.
“In matters of prevention of corruption, generally the allegations will be against persons occupying higher positions in the government. If the ACB is given power, it will affect impartial investigation,” senior advocate Ashok Haranahalli, who represented one of the petitioners, told TNM.
The court was hearing a batch of 15 petitions filed by Chidananda Urs, Advocates Association of Bangalore and others, questioning the powers of the ACB. One of the petitioners, Chidananda Urs, had also filed a petition in 2016 following which the High Court ordered that cases under investigation by the Lokayukta police must not be transferred to the ACB.