Karnataka’s 206 corruption cases backlogged, governor-government dispute deepens

The ongoing tiff between the Siddaramaiah government and Karnataka Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot over prosecution sanctions took a new turn on Saturday. Sources close to the government revealed to India Today that as many as 206 prosecution requests against officials facing corruption charges remain pending.
The pending corruption cases, spanning 27 government departments, are stuck at the ministerial level, with some awaiting decisions from department secretaries. Despite requests for approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, proposals from the Lokayukta remain unresolved.
However, Karnataka Minister HK Patil clarified that these pending requests date back to 2008 and include cases that had to be cleared by the previous governments, and not just by the Congress-led administration.
Minister Patil assured that the government will resolve the pending cases as soon as possible.
“I wasn’t there for previous meetings, but whatever the pending cases are there will try to resolve as soon as possible. Yes, there are pending cases for the sanction for prosecution against many officers and from multiple investigation agencies including CBI,” Patil hold India Today.
The cabinet sub-committee, responsible for approving or rejecting sanctions for corruption cases, has not cleared several cases carried over by previous governments.
The five-member committee, which includes Home Minister G. Parmeshwara, Law Minister H.K. Patil, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Minister for RDPR, IT, and BT Priyank Kharge, and Labor Minister Santhosh Lad, holds the authority to decide on these pending prosecutions.