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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | War on graft? Modi government has punished only 12 corrupt IAS officers in three years -Nitin Sethi

War on graft? Modi government has punished only 12 corrupt IAS officers in three years -Nitin Sethi

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published Published on Dec 27, 2017   modified Modified on Dec 27, 2017
-Scroll.in

It takes an average of eight years to investigate complaints of corruption against central government officials.

When the Bharatiya Janata Party ascended to power at the Centre in 2014, it was helped enormously by a wave of anti-corruption sentiment that has swept India. In the run-up to the election, prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi promised to prosecute all corrupt officials and politicians – including those from his own party. During the campaign, Modi and his partymen frequently alleged that the Congress was notoriously corrupt and has been responsible for several scams, such as fixing the sales of 2G mobile phone spectrum.

As recently as August, the prime minister exhorted Indians to unite to ensure a corruption-free country by 2022. “Mahatma Gandhi had given the slogan of ‘do or die,’” he said. “That was the formula of that time. Today, in 2017, if we take this resolution that how will India become in 2022, then we will get rid of corruption from the country.”

However, on December 21, a Central Bureau of Investigation court exonerated all the people accused in the 2G scam, in which a former minister in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government was accused of granting spectrum to telecom companies in return for favours. This judgement raised the question of whether the BJP has done any better than the Congress regime in fighting high-level corruption in the government. In its judgement, the court made scathing comments about the prosecution and CBI for presenting little real evidence to back up their allegations.

The BJP’s effectiveness in batting graft can be gauged from a reply by the Prime Minister’s Office to a Right to Information query.

RTI query

In October, a Right to Information applicant asked the Prime Minister’s Office three key questions. To begin with, how many corrupt Indian Administrative Service officers had the government taken action against? If IAS officers are found to be corrupt, only the prime minister can sanction administrative action against them.

The Prime Minister’s Office replied that in the three-and-half-years from 2014, action had been taken against 12 officers. There are more than 5,000 serving IAS officers.

Records shows that in the two years for which data is available in public domain, between 2012-’14, when the Congress-led government ruled at the Centre, four IAS officers faced action for corruption. The government does not disclose information about how many IAS officers are being investigated or against how many corruption-related complaints have been received.

The response to the RTI query also showed that the appointment of a Lokpal to investigate corruption at the highest levels in the Union government is not likely soon. In addition, an internal study of the government has also revealed that investigations by the government into corruption allegations against All India Service officers – the top rung of the bureaucracy – who serve the Union government, are facing inordinate delays. They take an average of eight years to be completed.

When accused of corruption, IAS and other All India Service officers working in the Union government are subjected to two parallel processes of investigation and prosecution. They face regular criminal charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other laws. They also have to undergo internal departmental inquiries in which the Central Vigilance Commission plays a supervisory role. At the end of the departmental investigations, the commission recommends action to be taken against an official found guilty of corruption. Based on these recommendations, the nodal ministry for the particular central service officer takes action. If an IAS officer is found guilty of corruption, the Prime Minister’s Office is the final authority to decide any major penalties. These include dismissal from service or compulsory retirement in the case of a serving officer, and a cut in pensions for retired officers.

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Scroll.in, 26 December, 2017, https://scroll.in/article/862494/anti-corruption-score-card-bjp-has-punished-only-12-corrupt-ias-officers-in-three-years


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