Will not protect corrupt civil servants
Amidst the furore created by the Rajasthan government’s Ordinance that gives immunity to judges, magistrates and public servants regarding cases lodged against them for acts while in service, the government has clarified its stand and said that it has a zero tolerance towards corruption.
It said that the Ordinance is to protect honest public servants as almost three-fourths of cases filed against them turn out to be false. Meanwhile, the opposition has declared that it would oppose the Ordinance in the Assembly and a civil society has demanded that the government repeal it.
The Rajasthan government, in a written statement issued on Saturday, clarified that the new ordinance titled Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 would not provide any protection to the corrupt public servants. It said that Rajasthan is not the first state to bring about such an ordinance; the Maharastha Assembly had brought such an amendment on December 23, 2015 to prevent harassment and ensure that the image of honest officers is not tarnished.
It further said that the ordinance does not mean that cases would not be registered against corrupt officials. The 180-day period was for the police to investigate and confirm whether the case …read more
