Fighting corruption
Panel to expedite action against tainted babus

The high-power committee constituted by the Centre to suggest measures to fast track action against corrupt and deviant civil servants was long overdue. Headed by former Union Public Service Commission Chairman P.C. Hota, the committee of experts will have former Central Vigilance Commissioner P. Shankar and former Secretary (Personnel) Arvind Verma as members. At present, a lot of time is wasted in sending these cases to the UPSC for advice, which is mandatory under Article 320 (3) © of the Constitution. The problem is that most cases are referred to the UPSC just before the tainted officer is due to retire or when the deadline set by a judicial order in the matter is about to expire. As a result, the UPSC hardly gets time to examine each case properly and make due recommendation to the Department of Personnel and Training.

Clearly, there is a big difference between probing a serving and a retired civil servant. Certain forms of punishment cannot be awarded once the officer attains superannuation. However, if the officer is in service, action against him acts as an effective deterrent. A timely reference to the UPSC, at least six months in advance of an officer’s retirement, is desirable to speed up action against him/her. The disciplinary proceedings being quasi-judicial in nature, the UPSC tenders it advice after a thorough, judicious and independent consideration of all relevant facts. The new committee is expected to look into the current time-consuming process and suggest ways to cut delays and expedite action against bureaucrats.

According to Central Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha, a list of 123 tainted IAS, IPS and IFS officers (from many states) has been hosted on the commission’s website. This shows the extent and magnitude of corruption in the higher bureaucracy. The CVC’s action, commendable though, is not enough. What is needed is a pro-active role by both the UPSC and the CVC in bringing the guilty to book expeditiously. Unfortunately, the IAS, supposed to be the cream of bureaucracy, is deteriorating fast because of increasing cases of corruption, nepotism and abuse of power involving its members. They no longer command the respect their predecessors once enjoyed. It is time to weed out the malcontents and stem the rot in the civil services.