Eight months on ufffd Govt reluctant to act against corrupt Babu?

CBI has been awaiting sanction to prosecute top civil aviation bureaucrat accused of corruption and misuse of power, for more than eight months

DESPITE exposing and completing their investigation against a corrupt top civil aviation bureaucrat more than eight months ago, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has not been able to prosecute him because it hasn't got the mandatory clearance from the central government.

Manoj Malviya, an IPS officer and additional commissioner (Mumbai region) of the Bureau of Civil Aviation (BCAS), had been accused of misusing his power to garner business-class tickets, accommodation in luxury hotels and transportation in high-end cabs from leading domestic airlines for himself and his family.

The case of Malviya, the son of a retired High Court judge, was one of the most high-profile instances of corruption exposed by the CBI in recent times.

Malviya had been charged with obtaining personal benefits from two leading domestic airlines, businessmen, airport authorities and others under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and during the course of investigation, most of the charges were found to be correct.

"We booked him under the Prevention of Corruption Act and he was accused of taking favours from the airlines. During the investigation, it was established that Malviya took free tickets from a leading airline.

He also took favours from airlines for luxury hotels and cab services during his travels with his family in India and abroad. He had also taken favours from another leading domestic airline," said a senior CBI official.

"Since we cannot prosecute any IPS-level officer directly, we submitted a report to the central government on November 18, 2010, asking for the required sanction for his prosecution. The permission is still awaited and, until then, we cannot file a chargesheet in the case," he added.

About Malviya
A 1986-batch IPS officer, Malviya was considered the most powerful bureaucrat at the Mumbai BCAS, as the chair of commissioner was lying vacant during his tenure.

He was also hoping to become the joint commissioner of the bureau as his promotion was pending before he came under the CBI's scanner. Malviya has now been sent back to his IPS parent cadre in West Bengal, where, it is speculated, he will be attached to the IPS headquarters.

300
The number of government officers against whom requests for prosecution sanctions were pending with the government as on March 31 this year

Our report
MiD DAY had reported on October 20 last year ('Around the world in just Rs 1 lakh') how Malviya had managed to travel to several places across the globe with his family and stayed in posh hotels by paying only Rs 1 lakh.

The Other Side
"We are examining the matter along the Chief Vigilance Commissioner and the Civil Aviation Ministry. There are many aspects which need to be cleared before the sanction for prosecuting the IPS officer is given," Special Union Secretary (Home)
U K Bansal told MiD DAY.