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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | CBI graft report: 2000 cases, 16 chargesheets-Imran Ahmed Siddiqui

CBI graft report: 2000 cases, 16 chargesheets-Imran Ahmed Siddiqui

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published Published on Apr 26, 2012   modified Modified on Apr 26, 2012

The CBI registered over 2,000 corruption cases against public servants in the past three years but has been able to file chargesheets in only 16 cases.

A senior CBI official blamed two factors: staff shortage and government departments’ stalling tactics on sanctioning prosecution or investigation.

The complicated nature of the cases taken up by the CBI means the agency often has to scrutinise volumes of documents and examine hundreds of witnesses, he said.

“If there are not enough investigating officers, who will examine these voluminous documents?” the official said.

“Inspectors and sub-inspectors are our foot soldiers and are crucial to any probe, but over 200 posts of inspectors are vacant. This is alarming.”

Because of a shortage of law officers, the agency has since last year been hiring special prosecutors on three-year contracts as a stopgap arrangement, he said. “Still, the shortage has been affecting our performance in courts.”

CBI spokesperson Dharini Mishra was willing to be quoted as she accused government departments of deliberately delaying sanction for prosecution or investigation.

Before prosecuting any government official, the agency has to seek sanction from the department he or she works with, Mishra said. If the official is of the rank of joint secretary or above, sanction is needed even to start a probe.

“These departments often delay sanction, especially for initiating probes against senior officials. This is a major problem that delays investigation,” Mishra said.

Another CBI official said: “Of the 2,000 cases we filed in the past three years, we have been awaiting sanction for prosecution in over 700 cases. Also, we are yet to receive a single sanction to initiate a probe against a senior official.”

He said the departments are supposed to decide on requests for such sanction within six months but hardly ever do so. The CBI cannot do anything apart from sending reminders.

In February this year, the apex court had upheld citizens’ right to seek the prosecution of public servants and suggested Parliament enact a law that requires a decision on sanction within four months. If no decision is conveyed within the stipulated time, sanction should be deemed as granted.

The advice isn’t binding on the government and nothing has been done.

Last month, V. Narayansamy, minister of state for personnel, told Parliament that the CBI had been asked to review cases that had been under investigation for more than a year and to send constant reminders to departments concerned to speed up the process of sanction for prosecution.

CBI officials mentioned a third reason for delays: in many cases, the investigations need to be done in foreign countries, which entails a lot of procedural work. For instance, the agency must send a letter rogatory — a request from an Indian court to a foreign court for documentary or other evidence and judicial help in connection with a case registered in India.

The Telegraph, 26 April, 2012, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120426/jsp/nation/story_15420615.jsp#.T5jyabOO35s


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