Prosecute corrupt officers: Abraham

Activist Abraham T J on Wednesday urged the Lokayukta to act against 114 serving and retired IAS, KAS officers and other senior government officials, against whom sanctions for prosecution are awaited from the Karnataka government.

Releasing the list of 114 names in 94 corruption cases, he said the Lokayukta need not wait for the sanction as the Supreme Court’s verdict in Vineet Narain vs Union of India (1998) case states that the sanctioning authorities are obliged to make a decision within a time frame of three months, from the date of receipt of such request.

A similar verdict was passed in the case of Subramanian Swamy vs Dr Manmohan Singh (2012). Accordingly, Abraham said, if the government does not give permission for the prosecution within three months, the Lokayukta can proceed with the cases.

Abraham released copies of a letter which he had written to the Lokayukta and the chief secretary in this regard.

The list of the 114 public servants includes names of Bagalkot MLA V C Charanthimat and former IAS officers Babu Rao Mudabi, M K Baladeva Krishna and SM Raju among others.