A Study on combating corruption in India

Introduction:-

Corruption is a global phenomenon and it is omnipresent. Corruption has progressively increased and is now rampant in our society. It’s not easy to define corruption and it may be in various forms. Corruption is a consequence of the nexus between Bureaucracy, Politics and criminals in India. Emergence of political elite who believe in internet-invented rather than nation oriented programmes and policies. Anti-social scarcity eveated by the people with Malevolent works and fabric of the economy. Corruption is increased due to change in the value system and ethical abilities of Human Agency.

Populations coupled with wide spread illiteracy and poor economic structure lead to endemic corruption in public life. Many new leaders when come into power declare their determination to eradicate corruption but soon they themselves become corrupt and start amassing huge wealth.  This research paper has to be submitted on the basis of secondary data with the following objectives by the researchers.

1.  To examine the legislative safeguards regarding corruption in India.

 2. Toenlist about the latches for implementation of Corruption Act by executive authority.

 3. To explain the role of Society to combat corruption.

 4. To state about the positivism of judiciary for eradication of corruption

National scenario of Legislative safeguards on corruption:-

Indian administration is tainted with scandals. India is among 71 of the 102 countries where corruption is rampant, according to the Corruption Perception Index 2002 Report released by Transparency International India. Corruption in India leads to promotion not prison. It is very difficult to catch big sharks. Corruption in India has wings not wheels. As nation grows, the corrupt also grow to invent new methods of cheating the government and public. India is now no longer considered a soft state. It has now become a consideration state where everything can be had for a consideration. Today, the number of ministers with an honest image can be counted on fingers. At one time, bribe was paid for getting wrong things done but now bribe is paid for getting right things done at right time.

Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 defines corruption as:

“Whoever being or expecting to be a public servant, accepts or obtains, or agrees to accept, or attempts to obtain gratification whatever, other than legal remuneration as a motive or a reward or for bearing to do any official act or for showing or for bearing to show, in the exercise of his official functions favour or disfavour to any person with the Central or State Government or Parliament or Legislature of any State or with any public servant as such.”

The World Bank defines corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain. Corruption as dealt with by the Council of Europe’s Multidisciplinary Group of Ministers is bribery and can be said to constitute the combined effect of monopoly of power plus discretion in decision-making in the absence of accountability. Amongst the major causes of corruption, the important ones are, greed, circumstances, opportunities, and other temptations that include party funds, money for patronage, apprehension of loss of office, need for extra money to maintain standards and the like. In an expanding economy on account of rapid industrialization and growth of an acquisitive society, a conflict of values inevitably occurs. The age-old concept of values of judging people by what they are rather than what they have crumbles and people easily succumb to corruption. This apart, the rising cost of living and the wide gap between real wages and the opportunities to make quick money encourages corrupt practices among public servants and businessmen. Besides, Indian society tolerates amassing of wealth and it is seen as a symbol of competence. Other reasons are consumerism and desire for an ostentatious lifestyle and evil social practices like dowry and pressure of payment for education.

Causes of corruption:-

The causes of corruption are many and complex. Following are some of the causes of corruption. Emergence of political elite who believe in interest-oriented rather than nation-oriented programmes and policies. Artificial scarcity created by the people with malevolent intentions wrecks the fabric of the economy. Corruption is caused as well as increased because of the change in the value system and ethical qualities of men who administer. The old ideals of morality, service and honesty are regarded as anachronistic. Tolerance of people towards corruption, complete lack of intense public outcry against corruption and the absence of strong public forum to oppose corruption allow corruption to reign over people. Vast size of population coupled with widespread illiteracy and the poor economic the economy. Corruption is caused as well as increased infrastructure lead to endemic corruption in public life. In a highly inflationary economy, low salaries of government officials compel them to resort to the road of corruption. Graduates from IIMs with no experience draw a far handsome salary than what government secretaries draw. Complex laws and procedures alienate common people to ask for any help from government. Election time is a time when corruption is at its peak level. Big industrialist fund politicians to meet high cost of election and ultimately to seek personal favour. Bribery to politicians buys influence, and bribery by politicians buys votes. In order to get elected, politicians bribe poor illiterate people, who are slogging for two times meal.

Measures to combat corruption:-

Is it possible to contain corruption in our society? Corruption is a cancer, which every Indian must strive to cure. Many new leaders when come into power declare their determination to eradicate corruption but soon they themselves become corrupt and start amassing huge wealth. There are many myths about corruption, which have to be exploded if we really want to combat it. Some of these myths are: Corruption is a way of life and nothing can be done about it. Only people from underdeveloped or developing countries are prone to corruption. We will have to guard against all these crude fallacies while planning measures to fight corruption. Foolproof laws should be made so that there is no room for discretion for politicians and bureaucrats. The role of the politician should be minimized. Application of the evolved policies should be left in the hands of independent commission or authority in each area of public interest. Decision of the commissioner authority should be challengeable only in the courts. Cooperation of the people has to be obtained for successfully containing corruption. People should have a right to recall the elected representatives if they see them becoming indifferent to the electorate. Funding of elections is at the core of political corruption. Electoral reforms are crucial in this regard. Several reforms like: State funding of election expenses for candidates; strict enforcement of statutory requirements like holding in-party elections, making political parties get their accounts audited regularly and filing income-tax returns; denying persons with criminal records a chance to contest elections, should be brought in. Responsiveness, accountability and transparency are a must for a clean system. Bureaucracy, the backbone of good governance, should be made more citizen friendly, accountable, ethical and transparent. More and more courts should be opened for speedy & inexpensive justice so that cases don’t   linger in courts for years and justice is delivered on time. Local bodies, Independent of the government, like Lokpals, Lokadalats, CVCs and Vigilance Commissions should be formed to provide speedy justice with low expenses. A new Fundamental Right viz. Right to Information should be introduced, which will empower the citizens to ask for the information they want. Barring some confidential information, which concerns national and international security, other information should be made available to general public as and when required. Stringent actions against corrupt officials will certainly have a deterrent impact.

In present legal system there is no specific law for corruption.  In our legal system have various constitutional & legal provisions but still corruption is not controlled & even-growing day by day its menace are great, common persons are suffering & criminals are moving free in our society if there will be an elaborative specific law on corruption in India which have the deterrent & harsh punishment minimum for 5 years imprisonment & maximum life imprisonment with recovery of financial losses by search & seizure. This crime shall be treated crime against nation and punished severely then its menace can be controlled.

RECOMANDATION TO THE LEGISLATION:-

1. There is need of a Comprehensive law to curb all kinds of corruption  as well as it shall contain the severer punishment for white collar crime, after proof of guilt minimum five year imprisonment and maximum punishment life imprisonment are to be impose in rarest cases there shall be death penalty which is required to create deterrent effect on society.  Loses incurred by these crime shall be fulfilled from accused by confiscation of his/her property and that property shall declared as national wealth.

2. There shall be special court to deal with corruption cases, and such court shall be fast rack court. Cases must be decided with in six month after investigation.

3. There shall be independent bodies Lokpal at centre and Lokayukta at state level, they shall have power to initiate investigations and prosecution against any officer or politician as well as private bodies without the permission of any one. The investigation shall be completed with in short term. (within six months)

4. The Lokpal and Lokayukta shall have complete powers to order dismissal of corrupt officer. Even the judiciary shall also come under the power of these bodies. They shall have power to take suo- moto action, and the process of sanction to prosecute shall be deleted from the Criminal procedure code and the Prevention Act.

5. Lokpal and Lokayukta shall have power to enquire into and hear every complaint.

6. All investigation in Lokpal and Lokayukta shall be transparent. After completion of investigation all case record shall open to public. Complain against any staff of Lokpal and Lokayukta shall be enquired and punishment announced within two months.

7. The appointment of Lokpal and Lokayukta shall be fully transparent and no politician shall have full interference in selection of chairperson and other members.

8. Lokpal and Lokayukta shall get public grievances resolved in time bound manner, impose a penalty of per of delay to be deducted from the salary of guilty officer and awarded that amount as compensation to the aggrieved citizen.   

9.Declare all Indian wealth lying outside the country illegally, as national wealth.

10. Our country shall accept UNCAC pending since 2006 as well as shall be continue signatory in future for transparency and avoid corruption.

11. Method of tax evasion shall be specifically detected their monitor and disrupts payment gateway servers enabling corrupt people to manage money in tax-havens. Scrutinize accounts of people having credit/debit cards of foreign banks without any foreign work/ relation.

12. Disabling operations of any bank from tax haven country.

13. Withdrawal and demonetizing of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes   so as to avoid misuse of unaccounted money and quick arrest of the entire locally circulated black money, bribing and fake note traffic.

14. Corruption shall be treated offence against nation, and it’s a heinous crime.

15. For the arrest of Corrupt Politicians there shall be no need to take permission of Prime minister, direct arrest shall be allowed.

16. Person having charge of Corruption shall be permanently barred from election.

RECOMNADATION TO THE GOVERNMENT:-

1. Give better salary in govt jobs: Many employees in government positions receive low salary like clerks, office staff etc. Hence they expect to make money by bribery. For they try to delay the work for so long that the client is fed up and opts for bribery for progress in the work.

2. Increase the number of workers: In many offices of the government sector, the work load has gone up drastically but the recruitment of vacancies has declined. This gives an option for delaying the work by officials and expect monetary or other benefits for faster completion.

3. Law to dismiss from service if found to be involved in corruption:  This seems a better option. For instance if you see  cases where anti-corruption bureau rides an officers home and finds disproportionate assets, the officer is suspended from employment and taken for judicial trials. But after couple of years you will find them in employment at same or even better positions. So this creates no fear among the officials against corruption.

4. Keep transactions online and provide bill for every purchase: Many of them do not pay taxes and escape. This involves corruption. Making payments online through bank accounts and provision of bills for every transaction involving money.

5. Camera in most govt offices: In every ATM there are camera to keep a watch on the public taking their money. Then why not government offices have cameras to have a watch on the employ performance. Even  there are many employ’s who openly take bribe in presence of common men. This public bribery is due to confidence that public wants their work more than the amount they are paying to them as bribes.

6. Speed up the work process in govt institutes: Most corporate offices are in full fledged running by 8- 9 am but the government offices start by 10 to 11 am and wind up by 3.30 to 4 pm with a lunch break of 1& half hour in between. This indicates how much of commitment lies in the work and how fast the work goes on. If there are mistakes in the work or delay in the work, civilians have to run behind those workers to rectify or complete the work. This makes the chances of corruption more or else work is not done or problem rectified.

7. Make Media responsible and fix laws to be so: There are many major scams and corruption events involving media. Though the media is well aware of the corruption happening they stay silent due to their support for some political parties or else their owners get some monetary benefits from the rulers. Even there are many reporters who though come across some scam or corruption; they stay silent without revealing it for press for having received monetary benefits to do so. If media personnel are found to be guilty for not having exposed the scam or corruption intentionally, they have to be prosecuted and their licence be withdrawn.

8. Verify the selection procedures: Many people compete for government jobs and in the process there are corruption happening in the selection of candidates for the posts. So let the selection criteria and procedure used be transparent and any misconduct from this should be punishable.

9. Keep inflation low: This is another factor for keeping corruption high and also persistent. Due to rise in prices, any amount of income seems to be insufficient.

10. Speed up the judgment and increase the courts: Many cases of corruption take years to be given verdict. This delay in cases creates lack of fear for being corrupt and also huge time span for court trials gives sufficient time to make alterations in the witness.

RECOMNDATIN TO INDIVIDUAL:-

1)  At the personal level, it requires complete rejection & zero to tolerance of corruption.

2)  At the social level, the fight is rooted in an attitude that values ethical conduct and is steeped in the culture & customs of citizens, government & civil institutions.

3) At a pragmatic level, fighting corruption requires strategic approach & perfect tools in the various spheres of social, economic & government activities that combine a good measures & surveillance with detection & repression.

4) At the institutional level, there is a requirement for unfailing vigilance at all times & on all fronts; &

5) At the political level, there must be leadership as well as willingness to adapt & to confront new challenges with determination.

References:-

1) Ramkrishna P.V. Anticorruption Laws in India.2009

2)  Takwani C.K. The Administrative Law.2010

3) Bindal C.M. The Right to Information Act 2005

4) Rackless, Walter. C., The Crime Problem, 1970

5)  Sutherland Edwin H. White Collar Crimes, 1961

6) Siddique Ahmad, Criminology Problems and Perspectives, 1993.

7) Tackling corruption: An Indian perspective, By Deepa Mehta.

8) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_against_Corr - 122k

www.legalservicesindia.com

www.lawyersclubindia.com

www.google.scholors.com

www.tahalka.com

www.ag.gov.au/foreignbribery