Former Advocate General (AG) Asok Mohanty resigned from his post and was examined by the CBI, which later arrested him, and he is presently under interrogation being on remand of the CBI. And now, very interesting events regarding Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik turning down any investigation or prosecution against Mohanty as Advocate General in February 2014 has come to light.
One Bhawani Sankar Parija had approached the Chief Minister for sanction for institution of a necessary complaint case against Mohanty, the then AG, on August 14, 2013. A reminder was issued on November 5, 2013 followed by a representation to the State’s Governor on November 8, 2013. Though the law is that if any decision is not taken on a prayer for sanction with requisite details and no sanction has been granted for a period of three months there from, there shall be a “deemed” sanction, as per the decisions of the Supreme Court in the cases of Vineet Narain and Subramanian Swamy.
The Special Court, Vigilance, Cuttack came to hold that there has been no indication of the exact date on which the application was received by the Government and that the court was not inclined to proceed with the matter in the absence of a formal sanction under law. Parija challenged the decision of the Special Judge, Vigilance refusing to proceed with the matter before the Odisha High Court. The High Court, after hearing parties at length, had the opportunity of having the records of the Government relating to the sanction submitted to the court in a sealed cover by the counsel for the Vigilance Department.
The High Court noticed that the Chief Minister had been “pleased” to reject the request for sanction on February 13, 2014. The High Court proceeded to dismiss the criminal revision filed by Parija. The matter is reportedly pending before the Supreme Court.
These events and records indicate very interesting facts. Three months were over on November 14, 2013 for either sanctioning or refusing sanction as the same was to be exercised within three months from the date of request. When the “deemed sanction” as per law had come into operation, the Chief Minister chose to reject the prayer for sanction after a lapse of more than three months. In law, the matter of sanction in the case of the Advocate General, has to go to the Governor of the State. This matter has never engaged the attention of the Governor in accordance with law.
Investigations and actions of the CBI, pursuant to the directions of the Supreme Court in the case of Alok Jena, reached the doors of the then AG Asok Mohanty. The Chief Minister, at this juncture, found it convenient to accept the resignation of Mohanty. But records reveal that the Chief Minister had refused to sanction any action against Mohanty in the context of the chit fund scam and held back the file from reaching the Governor.
What the Chief Minister tried to prevent came to the fore because of the continuing pursuit of the matter by the Supreme Court, the petitioner before it and sequentially by the CBI.
The Chief Minister, thus, could not save Mohanty through his refusal of sanction, though belatedly in February 2014. As the “law took its own course” through the ‘Supreme’ channel and swept away the then AG from his post on September 12, 2014, caused his being subject to interrogation on September 13 and his subsequent arrest and remand on September 22.
The matters are out of hand and out of control of the supremo, and days ahead are expected to bring out more skeletons from the inner cupboards of the most powerful persons in politics!.