India
20 July 2012. Unhappy over the non-adherence to its earlier directive the government today asked all its ministries, banks and public sector undertakings, to “strictly” follow a time limit of 3 months in taking action against corrupt officials. The move followed a review by the Secretary of Department of Personnel and Training of the pending cases of sanction of prosecution. The review committee suggested that a disciplinary authority should not entertain any personal representations before giving sanction as this would entail a delay in decision making. The review panel also noted that in many pending cases the disciplinary authority had declined the sanction and thereafter sought advice of Central Vigilance Commission, the apex body for vigilance over public sector corruption. This was a clear violation of the laid down procedure. If in doubt the disciplinary authority must consult CVC first and then finalise its views. It was found that in the case of 31 instances action was pending for more than four months after CVC has given its recommendations. Apart from three-month time limit, additional time of one month may be allowed where consultation is required with the Attorney General or any other law officer in the AG’s office. This time limit comes from a Supreme Court ruling. Please see our article – Govt agrees to three-month deadline to try Ministers accused of corruption CVC provides lot of information of interest to the public at its website.
