Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Aug 12: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated on Friday that the state government will take future actions on the basis of BJP’s 2018 manifesto in response to the High Court’s decision to abolish the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and restore the powers of the Lokayukta police wing.
The ACB, which was established in 2016 by the then-Congress administration led by Siddaramaiah, was one of the promises made by the BJP in its election campaign.
“Yesterday the High Court gave its decision regarding the ACB. Keeping our party manifesto in mind, we will discuss in the Cabinet today, taking view of the instructions given in the court’s order copy,” Bommai said ahead of the cabinet meeting.
“We will take further action on this, on the basis of our party manifesto,” he added.
The decision was made by the Division Bench of Justices B Veerappa and K S Hemalekha in response to a petition challenging the creation of the ACB and the subsequent government order of March 16, 2016 that removed the Lokayukta police’s ability to register and investigate cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
According to the ruling, it is not constitutional or reasonable to create the ACB through a “executive order.” The ACB is now officially abolished.
The HC said that all cases still pending before the ACB would now be moved to the Lokayukta police wing, but added that the ACB’s previous decisions would stay.
