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Changes in the anti-corruption law cleared by the Union Cabinet will make it more difficult to charge officials with graft because it makes assent by the lokpal or lokayukta a condition for investigating and registering cases.
But once charges are proved, prison terms will be longer, equalling those for heinous crimes. To prevent delay, from the current average of eight years, a corruption case will have to be tried in two years. Moreover, the provisions will apply to commercial entities as well as civil servants.
The Cabinet amended the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, on Wednesday. Although details of the amendments were not immediately available, the Cabinet agreed corruption needed to be defined anew and punished stringently.
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In the past, if a public servant accepted a valuable gift from a person involved in a business transaction, he could be jailed for up to five years and fined. The new law will also define such gifts.
The law will change how graft cases are to be investigated. Earlier, preliminary enquiries could be registered after sanction of the state or central government. Now the assent of the lokpal or in the case of states, the lokayukta, will also be needed. Punishment has been enhanced from a minimum of six months to three years and from a maximum of five years to seven. The amendments bring India in line with international practices on treatment of corruption and the UN Convention on Corruption that India has endorsed.
