Charging commissions for acts of vigilance

The larger issue here is that it is finally the privilege of the appointing authority to take any action against the people appointed by it. Even the courts cannot legally take cognizance of any case or charge-sheet for any lapse against any public servant. In order to take action against employees, appointed on the recommendation of the UPSC, whether they belong to IAS or IPS or any other service, the advice of UPSC is a must.

Nonetheless, if the Government were to differ from its views, then it has to table a statement in Parliament giving reasons. The UPSC has proved its integrity. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Vigilance Commission, whose functioning has depended upon the personality of its head. Some CVCs have been in the forefront of the fight against corruption, while others have taken it as a sinecure and a post-retirement reward.

It is perhaps unfair to find fault with the CVC as the Centre itself is not clear as to what it expects from it. Institutions are built over a period of time . They also develop in response to social needs and the kind of rulers. For most of our politicians, politics is a profession and a means of livelihood. Getting into legislatures, whether at state or national level, means an unwritten immunity from any state action for any present or past wrongdoings. Incomes tax cases, violation of the law or graft cases are either put on the slow track or backburner or dropped altogether, depending upon the position of a legislature, vis-a-vis the ruling party.

The Assembly elections in Jharkhand, Bihar and Haryana this year only show that corruption is not an issue at all. Periodic raids by the CBI reveal even Class IV employees have given ample examples of rags-to-riches fables by becoming crorepatis in decades. There is an interesting case of an official whose wife earned Rs 5 crore in 57 days in a diamond trade along with a willing partner in order to launder the money that her husband had accumulated through corrupt activities. This is one record that astounds me the most, where a person’s earning rate exceeds Rs 8.75 lakh a day. The CVC should not bother about the fact whether its advice is heeded or not. It needs to introspect whether any of its efforts have provided justice to the common man and whether by its efforts or fear of its reprimand, there is one rascal less in the governance machinery. In the fight for turf, the main objectives are getting lost and sidetracked. A former Central Vigilance Commissioner has said that, ‘‘India’s economy today is a standing monument to the corruption and inefficiency of four specific departments — Customs, Central Excise, Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate. It is the evasion of taxes and the failure of these departments to check illegal activities, that has crystallised into the large percentage of black money in the economy. The quantum of black money has been estimated from Rs 40,000 crore to Rs 100,000 crore. Whole industries today depend on black money. ’’

The public at large is not bothered about the technical roles of various institutions. The public is instead keen on transparency and honesty in governance. Based on this, the Government and CVC, which is its main tool to fight corruption, have been judged and found wanting. They have been found wanting not only by Indians but also by the world community. Transparency International has classified India as the 83rd most corrupt country in the world with a score of 28 out of 100 on the corruption perception index. It is time to remind our rulers about Rudyard Kipling’s words, ‘‘We have forty million reason for failure, but not a single excuse’’.

The writer is former CBI director