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Every month, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) puts out a list of cases where sanction for prosecution has been pending for more than four months. It shows that all guidelines on speedy sanction for prosecution are flouted.
A 2005 CVC circular observes: "There has been serious delays in according sanction for prosecution." It adds the time-limit prescribed for according sanction was three months and another month if consultation is required with the Attorney General of India.
However, according to the CVC website, even in October 2013, there were 19 cases involving 29 officials where sanction for prosecution was pending for more than four months. In the previous month, there were 21 such cases involving 47 officials. Monthly data reveal that delay in giving sanction is a norm rather than an exception.
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This is set to change with the Parliament passing the Lok Pal and Lok Ayukta Bill 2013. The new Act says "The Lok Pal shall have the power to grant sanction for prosecution." The power to "sanction prosecution and investigation against public servants in cases involving corruption taken away from the political masters is one of the most positive aspects of the Lok Pal Act", says Nikhil Dey, a well-known social activist and co-convenor of National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information (NCPRI). The NCPRI had come out with its own version of the Lok Pal Bill.
The moot question is if this will break the politics-bureaucracy nexus. "Two things have kept bureaucrats and politicians together - lack of fixed tenure for officials and political bosses' powers to sanction prosecution and investigation. With one gone, the nexus will definitely get weakened," says a senior bureaucrat of the Karnataka cadre. Another bureaucrat with a key ministry at the Centre, however, is not so hopeful. He says "the nexus can break only when politicians lose power over transfers and postings".
The second report of the Administrative Reforms Commission, which came out in 2008, had also observed that "frequent transfers and posting lead to lack of accountability and corruption". The report studied the average tenure of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers from 1978 and 2006 and found that in majority of cases, the average time spent at a post has been less than a year. In fact, in 1981, 60 per cent of IAS officers spent less than one year in their job. The incidence of such a short tenure was 55 per cent in 2006.
This is also set to change following the Supreme Court order in November that the Centre and state governments must provide a minimum fixed tenure to officials. The apex court also mandated the order should be implemented in three months.
Bureaucrats at the Centre as well as in the states are of the view that with the Lok Pal becoming a reality now, chances of mega scams taking place will be less. "Lok Ayukta has been active in Karnataka for more than five years now. It has resulted in reduction of corruption by 25-30 per cent," says the Karnataka cadre bureaucrat.
The Act mandates even at the stage of investigation, public servants' property may be confiscated. And upon conviction, the Act says: "If any public servant is convicted of an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 by the special court, notwithstanding and without prejudice to any law for the time being in force, it may make an assessment of loss, if any, caused to the public exchequer on account of the actions or decisions of such public servant not taken in good faith and for which he stands convicted, and may order recovery of such loss, if possible or quantifiable, from such public servant so convicted."
The Act also mandates that all public servants will have to declare their assets and liabilities every year before July 31 and ministries concerned will publish those details on their websites before August 31.
Once the details of assets and liabilities come in the public domain, public servants will be susceptible to complaints and inquiry in case of sharp variation, say experts.
The Act sets time limits for preliminary inquiry, investigation and trial of corruption cases by special courts. The preliminary inquiry has to be completed within 90 days, investigation must be done within six months and the trial has to be completed within a year.
Experts are of the view that the passage of the Lok Pal Bill is the right step forward. However, it alone might not be able to effectively check corruption. "It will definitely be effective against big scams. But what about problems related to water, electricity, roads, ration and medicines - problems faced by common men? These problems can be tackled only if we pass other legislations like citizens' charter, grievance redressal and whistle blower protection bill," observes Dey of NCPRI.
Jagdeep Chokkar, co-founder of Association for Democratic Reforms, has his share of doubts, too. "The intention behind passing the Lok Pal Bill in a hurry was to arrest the rise of alternative politics. If the intention is suspect, the implementation will be half-hearted," he says. His other objections are: elected representatives will have a big say in selection of Lok Pal, and lack of clear-cut guidelines on what kind of Lok Ayuktas states should have.
