K'taka HC abolishes state's ACB, transfers cases to Lokayukta

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday abolished the state's Anti-Corruption Bureau, which was constituted in 2016 to investigate cases against public servants.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau was formed after powers vested with the state Lokayukta to look into corruption cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, were withdrawn by the then Siddaramaiah-led Congress government.

Until then, the Lokayukta, with its own police wing, was the premier anti-corruption agency in the state.

On Thursday, a division bench of Justices B Veerappa and KS Hemalekha directed the Anti-Corruption Bureau to transfer the cases and officers under its ambit to the Karnataka Lokayukta.

"The state government is not justified in creating ACB [Anti-Corruption Bureau] by way of an executive order when the field of investigation into corruption cases under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 was covered under the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984," the court observed.

The bench also directed the state government to maintain transparency and appoint competent persons as the Lokayukta and Upa Lokayukta by keeping the public interest in mind.

The order was passed on three separate public interest litigations by an advocate named Chidananda Urs, Advocates' Association of Bangalore and non-governmental organisation Samaja Parivarthana Samudaya. All of them had challenged the constitution of the Anti-Corruption Bureau.With agency inputs