The Goa government has declined to prosecute former chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar and two officers who had been indicted by the Goa Lokayukta for allegedly renewing 88 mining leases in Goa “with malafide intention”.
The lease renewals were struck down by the Supreme Court and petitioner Goa Foundation had filed complaint with the Goa Lokayukta alleging corruption in the lease renewals. After conducting an inquiry, the Goa Lokayukta ruled that the complaint had been substantiated and recommended that former chief minister Parsekar and two officers — then Director of Mines Prasanna Acharya and Mines Secretary P K Sain — be asked to demit office while also directing that an FIR be registered against the trio.
Owing to the nature of the Goa Lokayukta Act, the Goa Lokayukta’s findings are recommendatory in nature with the recommendations being forwarded to the ‘competent authority’.
The Goa Governor, who is the competent authority to decide on the Lokayukta’s recommendations in the case of the former chief minister, has not accepted the recommendation of registering FIR by ACB of state Government against Laxmikant Parsekar under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Under IPC for criminal conspiracy and for entrusting the investigation of such offences to the CBI.
In a letter to the Lokayukta the Department of Personnel informed that the Governor denied sanction for the registering FIR and also denied sanction for prosecution against Parsekar.
The Chief Minister, who is the competent authority to decide the Lokayukta’s recommendations with respect to the two officers also similarly did not accept the recommendation for registering an FIR and entrusting the investigation to CBI. While also denying the sanction to prosecute the two officers.
In January this year, the Goa Lokayukta in his verdict on a complaint filed by the Goa Foundation found that the officials “have abused their official position thereby causing loss to the entire State of Goa and benefitting only a few mining lease holders.”
The Goa Foundation had alleged that the act of the Goa government to renew the leases was an act of corruption.
Between January 5, 2015 and January 12, 2015 the Goa government renewed 56 mining leases, 31 of which were renewed in a single day — January 12, 2015, the day the Mines and Minerals Development Ordinance 2015 came into effect. The ordinance made it mandatory that leases will have to be granted through a process of auction, and the Lokayukta observed the hurry was obviously to avoid the process of an auction.
Parsekar denied wrongdoing and claimed he acted on the basis of a resolution of the state cabinet and that he should not be singled out for prosecution since it was the collective responsibility of the cabinet, while Acharya has said he will explore legal options.
