SC notice to Karnataka government on plea by retired IAS officer in disproportionate assets case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Karnataka government on a plea by a retired IAS officer, Syed Zameer Pasha, challenging the validity of the High Court's order rejecting his plea for discharge in a disproportionate assets case.

A bench of Justices U U Lalit and Vineet Saran sought a response from the state government on the officer's plea questioning the trial court's decision to take cognisance of the offence without a prior sanction as mandated under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The Lokayukta police had lodged an FIR against Pasha on June 21, 2012. Just nine days before his retirement, raids were conducted at various places and it was alleged he had amassed wealth to the tune of 272% of his known sources of income. After a lapse of six years, the Lokayukta police filed a charge sheet on May 29, 2018, reducing the tune of disproportionate assets to meager 13.4%, which was approximately Rs 19 lakh.

Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat and advocate Nishanth Patil, appearing for Pasha, contended that the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, came into force on July 26, 2018, mandating sanction for prosecution. The provision of the amended law made it clear that no court shall take cognizance of the offences, except with the previous sanction of the authorities.

However, the High Court had in "wholly erroneous" and "legally unsustainable" order on January 30, 2020, upheld the trial court's decision of August 14, 2019, rejecting his plea for discharge on account of the absence of sanction.

Among other grounds, the petitioner claimed the Lokayukta police made the case out of "surmises and conjectures" by wrongly calculating his adult children's expenditures into his account.