Ex-councillor must be censured: Lokayukta

 Former municipal councillor Subhash Jain was on Monday indicted by the Lokayukta for his willingness to support and facilitate unauthorised construction in his constituency. The ombudsman has recommended that Jain should be censured.

The case dates back to December 2011, when a sting operation was conducted by a news channel. It showed the involvement of eight municipal councillors, including Subhash Jain, in negotiating unauthorised construction with decoy builders for illegal gratification.

Delhi Lokayukta Justice Manmohan Sarin in his report held that this was a clear case where the councillor assured help to the decoy builders in raising unauthorised construction.
The contention of the councillor that the sting operation was malafide and illegal entrapment pursuant to a well-thought out conspiracy at the behest of his political adversary Gulam Suwani, was rejected by the Lokayukta.

Justice Sarin said the councillor made his greed for illegal gratification obvious during his talk with the decoy builders, when he blatantly settled for a sum of Rs 5 lakh for exercising his influence upon municipal authorities. He also ordered the matter to be referred to the police commissioner for action under the relevant law.

Jain is no longer a councillor,  but Justice Sarin said ceasing to be a councillor should not make any difference in imposing the penalty. He observed that misconduct does not cease with the office term coming to an end.  

“Political and public life, with all its vicissitude, does not come to an end by not contesting an election. Experience has shown that politicians who are sidelined at one time, often aspire for even higher positions in future,” he said.