Revisiting Corruption

Revisiting Corruption Laws Yeh Dil Maange More….. Corruption is nature’s way of restoring our faith in democracy- Peter Ustinov

Chief Justice of India, Shri K.G.Balakrishnan, spoke about the need to have a new law to permit seizure of the illegal properties & assets of the government officials convicted for corruption charges. Mr.Veerappa Moily, the Union Minister for Law, joined the debate & expressed the need to revisit the laws pertaining to Article 309, 310, & 311 of the Constitution. I am no legal expert but this sounds like music to ears what could otherwise have been termed as sound bites for the media. Coming as it does from CJI himself, one can take it on the face value. Chief Vigilance Commissioner has also released a list of 123 corrupt officers on their website for necessary action. But who will bell the cat? As the reports say there are enough labyrinthine provisions (protections?) in the law to complicate prosecution and delay the proceedings beyond tolerable frustration. The UPA government in second term is now in reforms mode and, therefore, at least a revisit to the temple of Constitution is guaranteed. Whatever be the intentions of this revisit, we have become skeptical about any tangible result of such a move. It may become an item only for 200 days report of UPA government. It is only because of initiative of the CJI that we need to be cautiously pessimist! I am not saying ‘optimist’ simply because the IAS lobby is strong enough to protect its own turf. Ocean of Corruption: One simple bouncer is enough to torpedo the whole issue. Why target only corrupt officials? Why not corrupt politicians also who have seemed to have immunity from everything from FIR

to prosecution? In fact the politicians are the insurance cover for the corrupt officers. It is a fact that what ever the CEO does becomes the culture of any organization. It is only because the political masters are corrupt that officers replicate their values & conduct. Invariably the officers themselves are only insignificant beneficiaries of overall booty. They are only the down stream participants in the river joining the ocean of corruption. So targeting the officers and leaving the politicians is unjust, discriminatory and undemocratic. Lok Pal Bill: It was in 1969 that the Lok Pal Bill was first introduced in parliament to bring elected representatives under the scope of investigation for corruption and approved by Lok Sabha but rejected by Rajya Sabha. The bill has been “revisiting” parliament eight times and every time it was successfully killed including in May 2008 under the UPA-I government. Mr.Veerapa Moily would do well to remove the dust over the 2008 bill and revisit the objections of Rajya Sabha. It is only after the Lok Pal bill is passed by both the houses of parliament that the elected representatives would have moral right to “revisit” the laws to book corrupt officials. In May 2008, Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh himself had agreed to bring the office of PM in the ambit of the Lok Pal Bill. Since the work in progress is in the same factory of UPA with same PM, the political masters would do well first to pass the Lok Pall bill before they can have the moral and ethical right to revisit the laws to bring corrupt officials to the justice. Even if they do manage to amend the articles 309, 310, & 311 to claim their seriousness, it would only remain in the statute and would never pass the moral portals of the judiciary. The cases would be buried before that stage itself as has been the practice and the CBI would be blamed by the courts for not doing the job properly. Swiss Bank Accounts:

Talking of corruption the issue of Swiss bank accounts can not be left out. Swiss Banks Association has stated that figures of Rs. Seven lakh crores of Indian citizens in Swiss accounts are fabricated and there are no statistics. They would require specific evidences to cooperate with the government of India. Don’t we have law prohibiting resident Indian citizens to have an overseas bank account? That simply translates into need to cooperate with government if any resident Indian passport holder has an account with Swiss bank or in the first place not to open an account for any Indian passport holder unless backed by necessary work permit etc. But the fact is that we are not serious enough because all the tainted funds of politicians, the government officers and therefore of the businessmen also are the main constituents of the Swiss accounts. Politicians can offer only what they know best- the lip sympathy and promises to act. Judge sets Example: It was indeed a very bright spark of ethical conduct when the judge of Haryana High Court declared his assets in spite of the declared position of the Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India. His conduct forced the Supreme Court bench to “revisit” their decision and recommend that the judges may declare assets on voluntary basis. That set the process in motion with judges forced to declare their assets. Hats off to the Haryana Judge for his conviction and conduct. Now that the judiciary has set the example, the CJI himself has earned the right to suggest as he did that corrupt officers should be booked and brought to justice. I am sure he means even corrupt judges, going by reports of corruption charges against Justice P.D.Dinakaran, Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court & a candidate for elevation to the Supreme Court. Never Too Late: If the government is serious about upholding values from declining and improving the global image of corruption in India as reflected by the index of Transparency International, we must set the stage for successful follow through. It is not

enough to hide behind “technical issues, looking in to intricacies of law, revisiting the laws etc”. 40 years of flogging the Lok Pal Bill, 123 corrupt officers on website of CVC, a chief justice accused of corruption charges proposed for elevation to Supreme Court and the Swiss accounts worth a trillion dollars make me say, “Yeh Dil Maange More”. More of action and not revisits. More of not flogging the Lok Pal bill, but passing the same. The nation suffers from acute Value Management Deficiency Syndrome. It is never too late, but the government is never too serious on corruption issue. So “Politician, heal thyself”. Vijay M.Deshpande Corporate Advisor, Strategic Management Initiative, Pune September 18, 2009 Visit www.strami.com for my other blogs