Corruption laws in india

 Corruption laws in India

Public servants in India can be penalized for corruption under the Indian Penal Code, 1860

and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act,

1988 prohibits benami transactions. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002

penalises public servants for the offence of money laundering. India is also a signatory (not

ratified) to the UN Convention against Corruption since 2005. The Convention covers a wide

range of acts of corruption and also proposes certain preventive policies.

In 2021 their Corruption Perceptions Index ranked the country in 85th place out of 180, on

a scale where the lowest-ranked countries are perceived to have the most honest public

sector. Various factors contribute to corruption, including officials siphoning money from

government social welfare schemes . Examples include the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Act and the National Rural Health Mission. Other areas of corruption

include India's trucking industry which is forced to pay billions of rupees in bribes annually

to numerous regulatory and police stops on interstate highways.

Process followed to investigate and prosecute corrupt public servants

The three main authorities involved in inquiring, investigating and prosecuting corruption

cases are the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), the Central Bureau of Investigation

(CBI) and the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Cases related to money laundering by

public servants are investigated and prosecuted by the Directorate of Enforcement and the

Financial Intelligence Unit, which are under the Ministry of Finance.

• The CBI and state ACBs investigate cases related to corruption under the Prevention of

Corruption Act, 1988 and the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The CBI’s jurisdiction is the

central government and Union Territories while the state ACBs investigates cases within

the states. States can refer cases to the CBI.

• The CVC is a statutory body that supervises corruption cases in government departments.

The CBI is under its supervision. The CVC can refer cases either to the Central

Vigilance Officer (CVO) in each department or to the CBI. The CVC or the CVO

recommends the action to be taken against a public servant but the decision to take any

disciplinary action against a civil servant rests on the department authority.

• Prosecution can be initiated by an investigating agency only after it has the prior sanction

of the central or state government. Government appointed prosecutors undertake the

prosecution proceeding in the courts.

• All cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 are tried by Special Judges who

are appointed by the central or state government.

What crimes are punished by this law?

1. When a public servant accepts money or gifts over and above their salary, in return for

favoring a person in their official duty.

2. When a public servant accepts gifts from a person with whom they have a business or

official relationship without paying them.

3. When a public servant is guilty of criminal misconduct such as regularly accepting bribes

to favor people during their official duty.

4. If any person accepts money or gifts in return for influencing the public servant by using

his personal connection or through illegal or corrupt methods, this person can also be

punished.

5. Any person helping the public servant commit these crimes can also be punished.