CVC halves time for reconsideration of its advice against officials accused of corruption

By IndianMandarins 08 Aug 2020

The CVC has halved to one month the time for reconsideration of its advice against government officials accused of corruption in cases where the department concerned wants to have a lenient or stricter view on the quantum of punishment recommended by it.

The move came after it was noticed that such proposals were not received in the stipulated time period of two months, thus causing a delay in the processing of vigilance cases.

The CVC is consulted by the government departments at two stages in vigilance cases — advice is first obtained on investigation reports and second before a final decision is taken at the conclusion of proceedings against corrupt employees.

Citing its earlier guidelines, the commission said that the government departments are required to approach the CVC for advice wherein a lenient or stricter view than that advised by it is proposed to be taken in the vigilance cases. Further, it was also prescribed that such reconsideration proposals should be sent within two months from the date of receipt of the commission’s advice, says the order.

Considering the need for expeditious finalization of vigilance cases and to adhere to the timelines for its finalizations, the commission on review of the existing timelines has decided that any proposal for a reconsideration of its first stage advice should be made to it within one month of receipt of the first stage advice, it said.

UP STF arrests a man for facilitating transfers of IAS and IPS

By IndianMandarins 24 May 2020

Uttar Pradesh STF nabbed a 30-year-old man Peeyush Aggarwal from Ghaziabad for allegedly facilitating transfers and postings of IAS and IPS officers in the state. He has been posing himself a journalist and social worker.

Aggarwal had allegedly fixed a Rs 1.25 crore deal for ensuring that a senior IAS officer is posted as vice-chairperson of Kanpur Development Authority (KDA). However, the deal fell through. He is alleged to have assets worth crores, he stayed in a rented flat at KW Srishti housing society. Originally from Uttarakhand, he had been living in Delhi-NCR for the past 10 years.

He also carried an ID card of DD News which later turned out to be fake. Vishal Vikram Singh, ASP in STF in Lucknow, said their investigation followed an audio clip in which Aggarwal can be purportedly heard talking to his associates about the IAS officer’s posting. After the clip featured on a news channel on May 21, the government ordered an investigation by the STF.

Delhi HC clarifies section 17A meaning

By IndianMandarins 30 Jan 2019

The Delhi High Court has recently ruled that when the act of a public servant is ex-facie criminal or constitutes an offense, prior approval of the Government as mandated under Section 17A of Prevention of Corruption Act would not be necessary.

This ruling was made by Justice Najmi Waziri while hearing the petitions filed by CBI Officers Rakesh Asthana And Devender Kumar for quashing the FIR registered by CBI against them.

They were accused of taking Rs. 03 crores in bribe from businessman Sathish Babu Sana to sabotage a money laundering investigation against meat exporter Moin Qureshi.

The petitioner Rakesh Asthana has impugned the registration of the 2018 FIR primarily on two grounds: first, it is in breach of Section 17A of PC Act, which requires prior sanction/ permission from the Government of India before registration of the FIR and second, it is actuated by malice of then CBI Director Alok Verma against the petitioner.

However, the Additional Solicitor General submitted on behalf of the CBI that permission under section 17A of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 was not at all warranted because the allegations in the complaint, on the basis of which the FIR has been registered after due process, cannot be said to be in discharge of the official functions or duties of the officers against whom allegations have been made.

Former IAS in trouble: CBI digs up an old grave

By IndianMandarins 24 Jan 2019

Digging an old grave is always a useless exercise - not for the country's law enforcement agencies and their political masters.

The CBI has reportedly booked former Air India Chairman-cum-Managing Director Arvind Jadhav and other former senior officials of the national carrier for allegedly violating norms in appointing general manager rank officers in 2009-10.

Along with Jadhav, the CBI has booked Dr (Ms) L P Nakhwa (now retired), then General Manager (medical services) and then Additional General Managers A Kathpalia, Amitabh Singh, and Rohit Bhasin. They have been charged under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The agency alleged that the former CMD had constituted an “illegal” promotion panel to recommend suitable candidates for promotions to the post of General Manager (Operations) during 2009-10.

The panel had recommended five persons, including Kathpalia, Singh, and Bhasin. Even though Kathpalia was facing a pending criminal case, he was allegedly given vigilance clearance, the FIR alleged.

The agency alleged complaints were also pending against Singh and Bhasin, who were selected for the position. â€œJadhav...conspiracy with...Nakhwa had abused his official position in order to appoint her as a member of the promotion panel committee and giving promotion to her without following due process for promotion,” the CBI added.

Did the HR crises cast shadow on CBI & the Govt?

By IndianMandarins 28 Oct 2018

Indianmandarins has been constantly highlighting for the last few years how the persistent acute shortage of officers in various police and civil organizations has been undermining their optimal performance. Once again, the issue has come to the fore in the faction feud of the CBI top bosses even though politics may be tending to cloud the core structural and HR issues undermining the functioning of CBI.

It is believed that had HR issues (inordinate delays in filling-up senior posts) been addressed and resolved well on time, the CBI wouldn't have suffered the kind of faction feud that has exposed it to judicial and public scrutiny. Certainly, the higher-ups failed miserably to sense the crises and foresee the worsening situation which reflected symptoms in March 2017 itself.

It may be underlined that any institution or system evolved over decades is always configured with self-remedial powers. Distribution of power plays a crucial role in balancing the ambition and functioning of an organization. Woefully, no government or top CBI officers had ever tried to sort out the managerial and HR issues within the organization.

In this context, it is worth underlining that the CBI has been functioning with extremely depleted strengths for over a year; three ADG level and approx 12 Joint Director and few DIG level posts have been vacant.

It means that for over a year most of the Joint Director level officers have been holding several additional charges. More additional charges equipped them with vast jurisdictions with limited accountability. It simply went against the principle of ‘distribution of power’ and ‘balance of power’. This triggered off its fallout across the organization and sabotaged the team spirit. Consequently, officers across all ranks - not excluding the chief and his deputy - started working at cross purposes.

It is anybody's guess if the government had at all acted in the case of the CBI faction feud if its own prestige and political narrative had not been tarred by the No. 01 & No. 02 exposing each-other's acts of omission and commission. So, after dithering for a while, for the first time ever perhaps, the Govt was constrained to use its extraordinary power under section 4(2) of the DPSE Act and based on the recommendation of CVC (under section 8 of CVC act 2003) it sent the top two on (forced) leave

CIC seeks details of corruption complaints from PMO

By IndianMandarins 22 Oct 2018

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has sought details about allegations of corruption against ministers sent to PMO. The CIC has directed the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to disclose complaints of corruption received against Union Ministers between 2014 and 2017 and the action taken on them.

CIC Radha Krishna Mathur, while considering a plea of whistle-blower IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi, directed the PMO to share information on the quantum and value of black money brought back from abroad during the tenure of the BJP-led government at the Centre, along with records of efforts made in this direction. The order asked the PMO to disclose information related to deposits made by the government in bank accounts of Indian citizens from the black money brought from abroad.

The PMO had termed the questions asked by Chaturvedi, in his RTI application related to black money, as not covered in the definition of “information” that can be accessed under the Right to Information Act, but Mathur rejected the contention.

“The commission further observed that the respondent has not given correct and specific reply/information to the appellant on point numbers 1(b) (corruption complaints against ministers), 4, 5, 12 & 13 (related to corruption in AIIMS) of the RTI application,” CIC Mathur noted.

Narendra Modi govt may act tough on black money

By IndianMandarins 13 Sep 2018

The Narendra Modi government has found a smart way to tackle the problem of shell companies by geo-tagging. The government is prepared to act tough on black money. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) might ask companies to geo-tag the location of their registered offices in the statutory filings with the RoC. Geo-tagging will help the government identify cases in which one building houses hundreds of shell companies.

However, many companies operating from one address is not a violation in itself. There is no limit on companies that can be registered at the same address. Consultants typically house the registered offices of companies for which they handle compliances, a practice common in Singapore and Mauritius as well.

But the government believes a large number of such companies are used merely for money laundering. Geo-tagging will help the government pin down such shell companies. 

Amendment of an ‘Act’ to protect honest civil servants

By IndianMandarins 23 Aug 2018

Amendments to Prevention of Corruption Act is meant to ensure that this law is not used to prosecute honest civil servants. Former Union Secretary and former Chief of Enforcement Directorate Dr Rajan S Katoch (Retd IAS:1979:MP) digs deeper into the subject and explores its larger implications. Click to read.