Special courts for corruption cases soon……….Prashant Dayal
AHMEDABAD: Here is some bad news for corrupt government officials. Soon, legal proceedings in all corruption cases in Gujarat will get on the fast track.
No less than 13 special courts for anti-corruption cases will be set up in the next three months. Sources in the state legal department said, “These courts will be functional within the next 90 days. These courts are being set up to deal with the huge pendency of corruption cases in Gujarat.”
Till date, district courts used to hear anti-corruption cases. Owing to prioritisation of various other legal petitions, corruption cases get delayed inordinately.
The scope of the problem can be gauged from the fact that no less than 1,100 chargesheeted cases are pending with various district courts across the state. Some of these cases date back 15 years. ACB authorities had written about the pendency to state vigilance commission and state government’s legal department. Later, the issue was put up before the Gujarat high court. The court, said sources in state legal department, has granted sanction to create 13 new courts to deal with corruption cases.
Additional director of ACB, Tirthraj, said: “This is a welcome decision. The new courts will help clear pending cases and in the near future new cases will also be disposed off in a much shorter time.”
During the last eight months the number traps sprung by ACB have also shot up. A total of 164 new cases were registered in which 198 government officials were arrested during the last eight months. During the same period in 2008-09, 115 cases had been filed against corrupt babus. “Now, on an average three to four cases are being registered during working days,” said ACB sources.