After much public debate and deliberation, the Government finally tabled the Lokpal Bill in Parliament last Thursday. Given the hype surrounding the Bill and the popular perception that the creation of Lokpal will end corruption in the country instantly, it is worthwhile to re-examine the issue and then decide if the Lokpal will achieve the desired results. After all, whenever a new institution has been created, a new set of problems has also emerged.
For instance, what will be the role of the Central Vigilance Commission if the Lokpal is institutionalised?
The Standing Committee of Parliament on Lokpal Bill has not given any indication in this matter nor does it seem to have examined the issue. Presently, the Central Vigilance Commission is only an advisory body (that also serves as a haven for retired bureaucrats), but after the creation of the Lokpal, there will be no justification for its existence.
However, it must be borne in mind that the Lokpal is bound to meet the same fate as the previous top-heavy vigilance bodies if it is to function within the existing laws, infrastructure, and without the judiciary being strengthened. In fact, the way, it is being designed — it will first have to decide whether a case of corruption exists at all, for instance — will mean that a lot of time and energy will be spent on fruitless exercise.
This is a trick to make the Lokpal ineffective ,especially in dealing with nearly 41 lakh Union Government employees. At present, no investigation agency needs any permission to initiate a case of corruption against any Government official (up to a certain level).
This brings us to the much debated issue of whether the high office of the Prime Minister should be brought under the purview of the Lokpal. The fact that it has been included in the draft Bill has been cheered by many, but the fact is that few ordinary citizens deal with the Prime Minister.
Instead, they work with a plethora of inspectors: For instance, from the departments of police, revenue, panchayat or municipal corporation, weights and measures, customs and excise, income tax, pollution and sanitation, to name just a few. And it is these people who make the life of the masses hell. Similarly, various Government-appointed inspectors visit industrial establishments ostensibly to ensure legal compliance but actually to take their cut.
There is no doubt that corruption has taken a huge toll on India’s economy. Global Financial Integrity reports that $19 billion in illicit money is taken out of the country each year, while the 2010 Global Corruption Barometre shows that corruption is so deep- rooted in Indian society that at least 54 per cent of households pay a bribe in a 12- month period to receive basic services. This kind of petty corruption hits the poor the hardest — an injustice heightened by the fact that they often have to pay a bribe to access services that should be free.
Given that a vast majority of the people in this country believe that the Government’s efforts to fight corruption have been ineffective, the challenge before our leaders is on how to move from empty promises to real action that will actually reduce corruption.
In this context, I believe that, after passing the Lokpal Bill, the Government must take the following steps to control corruption: It must amend the Prevention of Corruption Act so that it does not treat both the bribe-giver and the recipient as equally guilty. After all, nobody pays a bribe voluntarily. People pay bribes to get their work done. Also, if both the giver and receiver are guilty, then how do you get evidence to convict any one? The name of the bribe-giver should be deleted from the list of guilty.
The Government must also legalise sting operations. If Government agencies can conduct these operations to catch the corrupt, there is no reason why stings cannot be made legal for private citizens, so that every Indian is empowered.
Also, having failed to put its own house in order, the Government now wants to extend the ambit of the Prevention of Corruption Act to include the private sector. But, let the Government first control corruption in its ranks, before targeting the private sector.
Another step the Government should take to fight corruption is to punish the guilty by confiscating their assets. Some States have not only passed legislations to this effect but also put them to the test by actually confiscating the properties of corrupt public servants. The Union Government has, however, maintained a studied silence on this issue, even though ideally it should have taken the lead.
This has been happening despite the recommendations of the Law Commission made in 1996. How can the Lokpal legislation be effective unless the institution has the power to confiscate the ill-gotten gains of the corrupt, the crooked and the dishonest? A law needs to be put in the statute book immediately to handle this aspect. Also, when charges of disproportionate assets are made, the onus should be on the accused to prove that his/her assets are legal and gotten by fair means.
Furthermore, the Government should also accord constitutional status to the CBI, much like in the case of the Election Commission. This will prevent the misuse of the CBI because it will reduce the apex investigative body’s dependence on the Government. Once the CBI has its own budget and its own resources, it will not have to run to the Government for every small thing, be it hiring an advocate or recruiting staff members or sending investigators abroad.
Finally, the Government has to strengthen the judiciary. Unless the number of judges is increased, people, many of whom have already lost faith in the justice system, will continue to be victimised by the system.
On March 31, Supreme Court Justice Dalveer Bhandari said that there are over 2.74 crore cases pending in the subordinate courts, over 42.92 lakh cases in the High Courts and as many as 56,383 cases in the Supreme Court.
This is not surprising given that, as of April 1, there were 288 vacancies across all High Courts. Three years ago, the then Chief Justice of India had said that the country needed 77,000 judges to clear the judicial backlog, and called for increasing the population-judge ratio from the existing 10.5 judges for every 10 lakh people to 50 judges per 10 lakh people.
Ultimately, it is for the Government to cut the Gordian Knot to allow a smooth functioning of the Lokpal institution. Or else, it will be stymied before its birth. The Government must bear in mind what Albert Einstein once said: “Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character… Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction.”
