Ranchi Bar Association Demands Fast-Track Courts for Corruption Cases Against Government Officials

Ranchi: The Ranchi District Bar Association (RDBA) secretary, Sanjay Vidrohi, has written letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Union home minister Amit Shah, demanding the setting up of special fast-track courts for deposing cases of corruption against officials working with the state or Union govt, public sector units (PSUs) and banks.In his letter sent on Thursday, Vidrohi claimed that due to the lengthy judicial process, corruption cases remained pending for years, and during this period, many suspended govt employees on charges of corruption either obtained bail or were reinstated. Given this situation, fast-track courts should be set up to dispose of the cases within six months, he said.Vidrohi’s letter has also attached newspaper clippings of the recent cases of alleged corruption against the govt officials in Jharkhand, including the arrest of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) employees while taking a bribe, the arrest of a UCO bank senior manager and the questioning of IAS officer Vinay Choubey for the same offence.He also said the Constitution amendment bill, which envisages the removal of the Prime Minister, chief minister and ministers if they are in jail for more than 30 days in a serious offence, should also be applicable to govt officials once it becomes a law.The RDBA secretary further said suspension and condemnation were not enough to deter the corrupt officials from committing offences.“Measures that instil fear among the officials are needed to curb corruption. There is widespread corruption among the revenue department officials. The cases of corruption have been going on for more than a decade in some departments,” he added.