SC upholds law for confiscation of ill-gotten properties

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld laws passed by Bihar and Orissa to allow the
governments to confiscate ill-gotten properties of public servants even at the trial stage.
A bench of Justice Anil R Dave and justice Deepak Misra dismissed a batch of petitions
challenging validity of the Orissa Special Courts Act, 2006 And the Bihar Special Court
Rules, 2010.
Likening corruption to national economic terror, the bench said, “this social calamity
warrants a different control and hence the legislature comes up with special legislations with
stringent provisions”.
The court rejected the petitioner’s plea that the confiscation provisions of the property
accumulated from the ill-gotten gain, among others violated article 21 (right to life and
personal liberty) of the constitution.
Nothing that the property is confiscated under the law by way of an interim measure, the
court said, “A person cannot be allowed to indulge in corruption and conceive of protection
his dwelling house after a finding is recorded in the proceeding for confiscation that it is
constructed or purchased by way of corrupt means”.
The court also noted that both the laws allowed the person concerned to satisfy the authorised
officer or file an appeal that the dwelling house or other properties were acquired from his
known sources of income.
The apex court, however, declared as ultra vires one provision of the Bihar rules stating on
institution of a case or transfer of pending proceedings to the special courts, trial shall be held
in summary manner.