Extend the powers of Lokpal Act to J&K: Justice B A Khan

Chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir State Accountability Commission (SAC) Justice B A Khan today demanded that the Lokpal Act must be extended to the state to empower the Commission to investigate and prosecute graft cases.
"The State Accountability Commission was founded in 2002 with an aim to eliminate corruption from the system but gradually the successive governments eroded its jurisdiction. We demand that the Lokpal Act be extended to the state of Jammu and Kashmir," Khan, also a former Chief Justice of J&K High Court, said during an interaction with media persons here today.
He said when the SAC was founded, it had all the government departments, bureaucracy, universities under its purview but successive state governments eroded its authority and left only the political class within its ambit.

"Only the political class which include the Chief Minister, other ministers and political appointees are left under the purview of SAC. It could only give its recommendation and has no control over the action taken," he said.
Khan said most of the recommendations given by the Commission were gathering dust in the cupboards of the secretariat.
"We are not ashamed to say that for the past six months we have not received a single complaint against anybody", he said.
Maintaining that parliamentarians and legislators framed laws and carried out amendments as a "routine exercise" without "application of mind", he said because of that many laws failed to meet their intended objectives.

He said there is a "casual approach" to framing laws as bureaucrats do not hold discussions with the legal fraternity and the concerned minister before taking a bill to the legislature.