Gauhati HC finds prima facie case of misappropriation of huge public money in systematic manner
DIMAPUR, MAY 3 (MExN): In response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed with regard to allegations of fund misappropriation and the slow construction pace at the New High Court Complex at Kohima, Nagaland, a division bench of the Gauhati High Court passed an intuitive judgment and directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the said allegations and to submit a report within three months to the Registrar General of the High Court.
The bench consisted of Chief Justice, Ajit Singh and Justice Prasanta Kumar Deka, informed a press note from the Registrar General, Gauhati High Court.
The division bench also said that on finding any material to support the allegations, the CBI will take action as per law by registering FIR and that the Nagaland state government will fully cooperate with the investigation. It further directed the CBI to depute an officer to immediately collect all the relevant records from the Government of Nagaland pertaining to the PIL.
Since the CBI has been directed only to carry out a preliminary inquiry, not an investigation, the division bench refrained from commenting on the explanation given by the Government of Nagaland justifying the use of huge amount of money as well as completion of works so that neither the enquiry nor the interests of the parties suffer prejudice.
The Registrar General mentioned a September 13, 2017 news article in The Morung Express, which revealed that the foundation stone for an independent High Court for Nagaland was laid at Meriema in the year 2007, and till date the building had not been completed. Even the amount for the construction exceeded the original estimate by Rs. 9.63 crore.
Planned at the same time, the states of Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura have established their respective High Courts and made those functional in the year 2013 itself.
This information was brought to notice by the Nagaland Tribes Council through a press release. The NTC had through an RTI application found out that Rs. 43 crore was estimated for the High Court Project. But, during 2009-2014 and 2015-2017 the Department of Law and Justice withdrew Rs. 41.62 crores and Rs. 11.25 crores against the project respectively. Thus, during 2009-2017, there were 18 withdrawals and the amount increased to Rs. 52.63 crores against the original estimate.
The NTC also revealed that despite huge expenses, only 35 per cent of work was done and the concerned department had availed a loan from the government owned Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO).
It may be noted that social and RTI activists from Nagaland had submitted a petition to the High Court stating that Rs 22.42 crore has been withdrawn against the construction of the judges' bungalow whereas not even an area was earmarked for the same. Similarly an amount of Rs. 44,24,7001 has been withdrawn against electrification and water supplies, whereas the basic structure of the building is yet to be completed. Besides, Rs. 1.30 crores has been paid as consultancy fee “which is unbelievable and after exhaustion of the entire money,” the state government has taken a loan of Rs. 12,45,90,287/- from HUDCO, the statement said.
On perusal of all the records, the division bench found that there is a prima facie case of misappropriation of huge public money and siphoning off the same in a systematic manner to the gross prejudice to the public exchequer. “Though the State of Nagaland has tried to explain the money utilized, but the same does not nullify the fact that the construction of the New High Court complex is far behind completion than three other high courts,” the court observed.
It therefore directed the Nagaland government to expedite the construction of the New High Court Complex and ensure that the construction is completed at the earliest with highest standard of construction so that the “long cherished dream of the people of Nagaland to have and independent High Court of its own is materialized.”
