Central Vigilance Commission

Central Vigilance Commission is the apex vigilance institution, free of control from any
executive authority, monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government and
advising various authorities in Central Government organizations in planning, executing,
reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.

Vigilance means to ensure clean and prompt administrative action towards achieving
efficiency and effectiveness of the employees in particular and the organization in general, as
lack of Vigilance leans to waste, losses and economic decline.

Hawala scandal was exposed in 90’s using the route of PIL (Vineet Narain vs UOI, AIR 1998
SC 889). The SC gave directions that included new supervision of the CBI by the CVC. In
this landmark decision, the SC has laid down the following sixteen guidelines in respect of
the CVC:

1. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) shall be given statutory status.

2. Selection for the post of Central Vigilance Commissioner shall be made by a Committee
comprising the Prime Minister, Home Minister and the Leader of the Opposition from a panel
of outstanding civil servants and others with impeccable integrity to be furnished by the
Cabinet Secretary. The appointment shall be made by the President on the basis of the
recommendations made by the Committee. This shall be done immediately.
3. The CVC shall be responsible for the efficient functioning of the CBI. The CVC shall be
entrusted with the responsibility of superintendence over the CBI's functioning. The CBI
shall report to the CVC about cases taken up by it for investigation; progress of
investigations; cases in which chargesheets are filed and their progress. The CVC shall
review the progress of all cases moved by the CBI for sanction of prosecution of public
servants which are pending with competent authorities, especially those in which sanction has
been delayed or refused.
4. The Central Government shall take all measures necessary to ensure that the CBI functions
effectively and efficiently and is viewed as a non-partisan agency.
5. The CVC shall have a separate section in its Annual Report on the CBI's functioning after
the supervisory function is transferred to it.
6. Recommendations for appointment of the Director, CBI shall be made by a Committee
headed by the Central Vigilance Commissioner with the Home Secretary and Secretary
(Personnel) as members.
7. The Director, CBI shall have a minimum tenure of two years, regardless of the date of his
superannuation.
8. The transfer of an incumber Director, CBI in an extraordinary situation, including the need
for him to take up a more important assignment, should have the approval of the Selection
Committee.
9. The Director, CBI shall have full freedom for allocation of work within the agency as also
for constituting teams for investigations. Any change made by the Director, CBI in the Head
of an investigative team should be for cogent reasons and for improvement in investigation,
the reasons being recorded.
10. Selection/extension of tenure of officers upto the level of Joint Director (JD) shall be
decided by a Board comprising the central Vigilance Commissioner, Home Secretary and
Secretary (Personnel) with the Director, CBI providing the necessary inputs.
11. Proposals for improvement of infrastructure, methods of investigation, etc. should be
decided urgently. In order to strengthen CBI's in-house expertise, professionals from the
revenue, banking and security sectors should be inducted into the CBI.
12. The CBI Manual based on statutory provisions of the Cr. P.C. provides essential
guidelines for the CBI's functioning.
13. The Director, CBI shall be responsible for ensuring the filing of chargesheets in courts
within the stipulated time limits, and the matter should be kept under constant review by the
Director, CBI.
14. A document on CBI's functioning should be published within three months to provide the
general public with feedback on investigations and information for redress of genuine
grievances in a manner which does not compromise with the operational requirements of the
CBI.
15. Time limit of three months for grant of sanction for prosecution must be strictly adhered
to. However, additional time of one month may be allowed where consultation is required
with the Attorney General (AG) or any other law officer in the AG's office.
16. The Director, CBI should conduct regular appraisal of personnel to prevent corruption
and/or inefficiency in the agency.

The CVC is not controlled by any Ministry/Department. It is an independent body which

is only responsible to the Parliament.

Functions
 The CVC receives complaints on corruption or misuse of office and
to recommend appropriate action. Following institutions, bodies, or a person
can approach to CVC:
o Central government
o Lokpal
o Whistle blowers - A whistleblower is a person, who could be an
employee of a company, or a government agency, or an outsider
(like media, higher government officials, or police) disclosing
information to the public or some higher authority about any
wrongdoing, which could be in the form of fraud, corruption, etc.
 It is not an investigating agency. The CVC either gets the investigation done
through the CBI or through chief vigilance officers (CVO) in government
offices.
 It is empowered to inquire into offences alleged to have been committed under
the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 by certain categories of public
servants.
 Its annual report gives the details of the work done by the commission and
points to systemic failures which lead to corruption in government departments.
o Improvements and preventive measures are also suggested in report.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

What is CBI?
 Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating police agency
in India.
  It functions under the superintendence of the Deptt. of Personnel, Ministry of
Personnel, Pension & Public Grievances, Government of India - which falls
under the prime minister’s office.
 However for investigations of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act,
its superintendence vests with the Central Vigilance Commission.
 It is also the nodal police agency in India which coordinates investigation on
behalf of Interpol Member countries.
 Its conviction rate is as high as 65 to 70% and it is comparable to the best
investigation agencies in the world.
Establishment Act, 1946.
 In 1963, the CBI was established by the Government of India with a view to
investigate serious crimes related to defence of India, corruption in high places,
serious fraud, cheating and embezzlement and social crime, particularly of
hoarding, black-marketing and profiteering in essential commodities, having all-
India and inter-state ramifications.
 With the passage of time, CBI started investigations in conventional crimes like
assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings, crimes committed by extremists, etc.
Cases Handled by the CBI
 Anti-Corruption Crimes - for investigation of cases under the Prevention of
Corruption Act against Public officials and the employees of Central
Government, Public Sector Undertakings, Corporations or Bodies owned or
controlled by the Government of India.
 Economic Crimes - for investigation of major financial scams and serious
economic frauds, including crimes relating to Fake Indian Currency Notes, Bank
Frauds and Cyber Crime, bank frauds, Import Export & Foreign Exchange
violations, large-scale smuggling of narcotics, antiques, cultural property and
smuggling of other contraband items etc.
 Special Crimes - for investigation of serious and organized crime under the
Indian Penal Code and other laws on the requests of State Governments or on
the orders of the Supreme Court and High Courts - such as cases of terrorism,
bomb blasts, kidnapping for ransom and crimes committed by the mafia/the
underworld.
 Suo Moto Cases - CBI can suo-moto take up investigation of offences only in
the Union Territories.
o The Central Government can authorize CBI to investigate a crime
in a State but only with the consent of the concerned State
Government.
o The Supreme Court and High Courts, however, can order CBI to
investigate a crime anywhere in the country without the consent of
the State.
Director of CBI
 Director, CBI as Inspector General of Police, Delhi Special Police
Establishment, is responsible for the administration of the organisation.
 Till 2014, the CBI Director was appointed on the basis of the DSPE Act, 1946.
 In 2003, DSPE Act was revised on Supreme Court’s recommendation in the
Vineet Narain case. A committee that had members from Central Vigilance
Commission, Secretaries from Home Ministry, Ministry of Personnel and Public
 Grievances would send recommendations to Central Government for the
appointment of CBI Director.
 In 2014, the Lokpal Act provided a committee for appointment of CBI Director:
o Headed by Prime Minister
o Other members - Leader of Opposition/ Leader of the single largest
opposition party, Chief Justice of India/ a Supreme Court Judge.
o Home Ministry sends a list of eligible candidates to DoPT. Then,
the DoPT prepares the final list on basis of seniority, integrity, and
experience in the investigation of anti-corruption cases, and sends it
to the committee.
 Director of CBI has been provided security of two year tenure, by the CVC
Act, 2003.
Challenges
 The Supreme Court of India has criticised the CBI by calling it a "caged parrot
speaking in its master's voice", due to excessive political interference in its
functioning.
 It has often been used by the government of the day to cover up wrongdoing,
keep coalition allies in line and political opponents at bay.
 It has been accused of enormous delays in concluding investigations - For
example, the inertia in its probe against the high dignitaries in Jain hawala
diaries case [of the 1990s].
 Loss of Credibility: Improving the image of the agency is one of the biggest
challenges till now as the agency has been criticised for its mismanagement of
several cases involving prominent politicians and mishandling of several
sensitive cases like Bofors scandal; Hawala scandal, Sant Singh Chatwal case,
Bhopal gas tragedy, 2008 Noida double murder case(Aarushi Talwar).
 Lack of Accountability: CBI is exempted from the provisions of the Right to
Information Act, thus, lacking public accountability.
 Acute shortage of personnel: A major cause of the shortfall is the government's
sheer mismanagement of CBI's workforce, through a system of inefficient, and
inexplicably biased, recruitment policies - used to bring in favoured officers,
possibly to the detriment of the organisation.
 Limited Powers: The powers and jurisdiction of members of the CBI for
investigation are subject to the consent of the State Govt., thus limiting the
extent of investigation by CBI.
 Restricted Access: Prior approval of Central Government to conduct inquiry or
investigation on the employees of the Central Government, of the level of Joint
Secretary and above is a big obstacle in combating corruption at higher levels of
bureaucracy.

OMBUDSMAN (5marks)
Ombudsman is a Swedish word meaning “a grievance person” and is referred to in the Oxford
Dictionary as the "people’s defender”. An Ombudsman is also known as the watch dog of the
administrative authority

An Ombudsman is an agent of the Parliament who is appointed to investigate citizens’

complaints against mal-administration, especially that of public authority.
According to Garner “Ombudsman is an officer of an parliament who is appointed for the
purpose of safeguarding and protecting, citizen against abuse or misuse of administrative power
by the executive.”

According to S. K. Agarwal, an Ombudsman is an

 independent and non-partial officer who supervise the administration
 he deals with specific complaints from public against administrative injustice and mal-
administration.
 he has the power to investigate, criticise and report back to legislature, but not to reverse
executive action (he can’t stop the action he can only report)

Powers and Functions

(1) The post of ombudsman was instituted to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens
(2) An important function of Ombudsman is the exercise of discretionary powers. The
discretionary powers are vast and how to use these powers depend upon the person
concerned. Discretionary powers include corruption, negligence, inefficiency, misbehaviour
(3) They can access departmental files
(4) No evidence is required for investigation of a complaint, when it is referred to them
(5) They can act suo moto

Ombudsman in India
The functions of the ombudsman which were successful in the other countries inspired the
established of Lokpal and Lokayuktas in India also.

What are Lokpal and Lokayuktas?

The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 mandated for the establishment of Lokpal at the Union
level and Lokayukta at the State level. Lokpal and Lokayuktas are statutory bodies and these
do not have any constitutional status. These institutions perform the function and role of an
“Ombudsman” (an official appointed to investigate individuals’ complaints against a company
or organization, especially a public authority). They inquire into allegations of corruption
against certain public bodies/organizations and for other related matters.

Principles For Setting Up Lokpal And Lok Ayukta

The following must be followed while setting up Lokpal & Lok Ayuktas
- He should be appointed in the non-political manner and he should be independent and
impartial.
- The investigation held by him should be informal and in private
- Matters involving acts of injustice, corruption, etc, should be dealt by him and his office.
- He should be apart from judicial interferences.
- No pecuniary benefit or advantage should come to him from the executives.

The president can appoint ‘Special Lokpal’ for fast disposal of complaints. Special Lokpal is
appointed by the President after consulting the Chief Justice of India, Speaker of the Lok Sabha
and Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

Lokpal
The following are the qualification for a Lokpal
- He should not be a Member of Parliament or State Legislature.
 - If he is holding any office of trust or profit, he should resign from it.
- He should not severe relations with political parties.
- He should leave up any other profession he was attending.
- He should leave up any trade or any other occupation.

The salary and pension of the Lokpal are equal to that of the Chief Justice of India. Complaints
lodged for investigation will be taken up with the consent of the Lokpal. If he is biased in the
matter, the President shall deal with it in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. Mal-
administration means unreasonable, unjust or improper administration, undue delay or
negligence in administrative procedure. If there is alternate remedy by way of proceeding
before any Tribunal or Court of Law, then Lokpal will not investigate at grievance.

Under the following circumstances, the Lokpal will not investigate the complaint.
- If the complaints is time barred.
- If the complaints relates to any person who is not a public servant.
- If the complaints is trivial or malafide.
- If there is no sufficient ground for proceeding with the investigation.
- Complaints can be filed only by any person who is not a public servant and it should be
in the prescribed form, with prescribes fee, except for those who are poor and have no
means to pay the fees.

Functions
- The lokpal can take action against all public servants.
- He can also investigate any complaint made by private person.
- He can take decision against the erring public servants.
- He can recommend his findings to be enforced into action.

Jurisdiction and powers of Lokpal

The Jurisdiction of Lokpal extends to:
 Prime Minister, Ministers,
 Members of Parliament,
 Groups A, B, C and D officers,
 Officials of Central Government.
The Jurisdiction of the Lokpal extends to the Prime Minister, except in the cases of allegations
of corruption relating to:
 International relations;
 Security;
 The public order;
 Atomic energy and space.
The jurisdiction of the Lokpal does not include ministers and members of Parliament in the
matter relating to:
 Any speeches delivered in the Parliament or;
 For a vote cast in the Parliament.
Lokpal’s jurisdiction also includes:
 Every person who is or has been in charge (director/ manager/ secretary) of a body
or a society set up by the act of central government,
 Any society or body financed or controlled by the central government,
 Any person involved in act of abetting,
  Bribe giving or bribe-taking.

Powers of Lokpal
 It has the powers to superintendence over, and to give direction to CBI.
 If Lokpal has referred a case to CBI, the investigating officer in such case cannot be
transferred without the approval of Lokpal.
 The Inquiry Wing of the Lokpal has been vested with the powers of a civil court.
 Lokpal has powers of confiscation of assets, proceeds, receipts and benefits arisen or
procured by means of corruption in special circumstances.
 Lokpal has the power to recommend transfer or suspension of public servant connected
with allegation of corruption.
 Lokpal has the power to give directions to prevent the destruction of records during the
preliminary inquiry.

Structure of the Lokpal

Lokpal is a multi-member body consisting of one chairperson and a maximum of 8 members.
The person to be appointed as the chairperson of the Lokpal must be either:
1. The former Chief Justice of India; or
2. The former Judge of the Supreme Court; or
3. An eminent person with impeccable integrity and outstanding ability, who must
possess special knowledge and a minimum experience of 25 years in matters relating
to:
0. Anti-corruption policy;
1. Public administration;
2. Vigilance;
3. Finance including insurance and banking;
4. Law and management.
The maximum number of members must not exceed eight. These eight members must
constitute:
 Half members to be judicial members;
 Minimum 50% of the Members should be from SC/ ST/ OBC/ minorities and
women.
The judicial member of the Lokpal must be either:
 A former Judge of the Supreme Court or;
 A former Chief Justice of the High Court.
The non-judicial member of the Lokpal needs to be an eminent person with flawless integrity
and outstanding ability. The person must possess special knowledge and an experience of a
minimum of 25 years in matters relating to:
 Anti-corruption policy;
 Public administration;
 Vigilance;
 Finance including insurance and banking;
 Law and management.

Lok Ayukatas
Some States have adopted the Ombudsman system called Lokayukta. The instruction of
Lokayukta has been established in several States by enacting a Statues specifically for this
purpose. In some States, Uplokayutkas has also been appointed. The States in which
Lokayuktas has been established by enacting Statues include the States of U.P., Bihar, State of
H.P., Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Gujarat, etc. The provisions
of the States, however, are not same. But in all the states, the Lokayuktas have been given
jurisdiction over the Ministers, Public servants and officers in all States. In Karnataka,
Himachal Pradesh and Orissa, Lokayutkta has been given jurisdiction over the Chief Minister
also. In Maharashtra, Bihar, U.P. and Rajasthan, Lokayukta has not been given jurisdiction
over ex-ministers and ex-secretaries.

Qualification And Function

The Lokayukta or UpLokayukta should not be member of any Legislative and should not be
connected with any political party or carry on any business or profession. His terms of his
office is 5 years. He shall investigate any complaint filed by an aggrieved person along with an
affidavit. The complaint will not be taken up, if there is any alternate remedy. The procedure
of investigation, etc, is the same as that of the Lokpal. The Lokayukta and Uolokayukta will
present a consolidated report of their functions to the Governor.

Limitations
The institution of Lokpal came up as a much-needed change in the battle against corruption.
But at the same time, there are loopholes and lacunae which need to be corrected.
- The appointing committee of Lokpal consists of members from political parties
that put Lokpal under political influence.
- There are no criteria to decide who is an ‘eminent jurist’ or ‘a person of
integrity’ which manipulates the method of the appointment of Lokpal.
- The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013 failed to provide any kind of concrete
immunity to the whistle-blowers.
- The provision related to the initiation of inquiry against the complainant, in
cases where the accused is found innocent, leads to discouraging people from
making complaints.
- One of the biggest lacunae is the exclusion of the judiciary from the ambit of
the Lokpal.
- The Lokpal does not have any constitutional backing and no adequate
provisions for appeal against the actions of Lokpal.
- The states have complete discretion with respect to the specific details in
relation to the appointment of Lokayukta.
- The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act also mandates that no complaint against
corruption can be registered after a period of seven years from the date on which
the mentioned offense is alleged to have been committed.