Despite getting the President’s assent way back in September and the subsequent assurance coming from Chief Minister Raghubar Das, the Bill facilitating confiscation of properties belonging to corrupt officials has not been able to see light of the day.
Sources in the law Department, while confirming the receipt of the legislation, said that it had been forwarded for being published into the Jharkhand Gazette but could not answer why it has not been done so far.
“The ‘Jharkhand Special Court Bill, 2016' had come to the Department and after vetting it has been forwarded for Gazette publication about 12 days ago. I am not aware whether it has been yet published or not,” said a senior official of the law Department.
On the other, Home Secretary SKG Rahate, when contacted, said that the legislation must be with the law Department and no notification in this regard has come as of now. “After getting the presidential assent the Jharkhand Special Court Bill would have been with them. Probably, it would come to the Home Department for vetting before being notified,” said the Principal Secretary (Home).
The Bill—proposing to establish series of special courts where cases related to corruption against bureaucrats would be tried and also empowering the courts ordering to confiscate the illegally amassed wealth—was passed by the Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha in March, 2016 itself.
The Chief Minister had in October this year informed that the Bill has got the nod of the President and would come into force latest by December in the State which has been quite notorious for allegations of institutionalised corruption. The Bill also has provisions for refund of the confiscated property if the person in question is exonerated by the Special Court.
“The President has given his assent to the Bill which the Assembly had passed in 2016. The law would come into force by December after that all the illegally amassed properties earned by Government officials would be seized and used for public purposes like opening schools, medical centers etc,” the Chief Minister flanked by Chief Secretary Rajbala Verma, had said on the sidelines of the Jharkhand Mining Show in Ranchi.