Central Vigilance Commission

IN NEWS:

• The Central Vigilance Commission has invited suggestions from all the citizens for systemic improvements in the Central government departments and organisations.

CENTRAL VIGILANCE COMMISSION:

• The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is the main agency for preventing corruption in the Central government.

Evolution:

• A growing need was felt for a Central Police Agency which could investigate not only cases of bribery and corruption, but also with frauds related with government of Indian Departments.
• The establishment of such a body was first recommended by the Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption (1962–64), to advise and guide Central Government agencies in the field of vigilance.
• Following this, the CVC was established in 1964 by an executive resolution of the Central government. Hence, it was neither a constitutional or statutory body.
• In the judgement of Vineet Narain & Others vs. Union of India (1997) Supreme Court directed to transfer the responsibility of exercising superintendence over the CBI’s functioning to CVC and also gave directions related to the superior role of CVC.
• The Ordinance of 1998 conferred statutory status to the CVC and the powers to exercise superintendence over the functioning of the CBI.
• Later, in 2003, the Parliament enacted a law conferring statutory status on the CVC.

COMPOSITION:

• The CVC is a multi-member body consisting of a Central Vigilance Commissioner (chairperson) and not more than two vigilance commissioners.
• They are appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal based on the recommendation of a high-powered selection committee.
• They hold office for a term of four years or until they attain the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier. After their tenure, they are not eligible for further employment under the Central or a state government.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE:

1. Secretariat: The Secretariat consists of a Secretary, Additional Secretaries, Directors/Deputy Secretaries, Under Secretaries and office staff.
2. Chief Technical Examiners' Wing (CTE): The CTE constitutes the technical wing of the CVC and is manned by two Engineers. The main functions assigned to this organisation are:
   • Technical audit of construction works of Governmental organisations from a vigilance angle.
   • Investigation of specific cases of complaints relating to construction works.
   • Extension of assistance to CBI in their investigations involving technical matters.
3. Commissioners for Departmental Inquiries (CDIs)
   • The CDIs function as Inquiry Officers to conduct Oral inquiries in departmental proceeding initiated against public servants.

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS:

• To enquire or cause inquiries to be conducted into offences alleged to have been committed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 by certain categories of public servants, belonging to:
  • Group 'A' Officers of the Central Government;
  • Specified level of officers of the authorities of the Central government.
• Tender advice to the Central Government and its authorities on such matters as are referred to it by them.
• To exercise superintendence over the functioning of the CBI in the investigation of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
• Exercise superintendence over the vigilance administration of the various Ministries of the Central Government or corporations owned or controlled by that Government.
• Review the progress of applications pending with the competent authorities for sanction of prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988;

ISSUES SURROUNDING CVC:

• Relative independence: Although CVC is relatively independent in its functioning, it has neither resources nor powers to inquire and take action on complaints of corruption that may act as an effective deterrence against corruption. For eg: CVC cannot direct CBI to initiate inquiries against any officer of the level of Joint Secretary and above without prior permission from the concerned department.
• Only an advisory body. The Decisions of the CVC are not binding on the organizations or ministries. They are free to either accept or reject its advice in corruption cases. There were some instances of significant deviations from the Commission’s advice. Eg: In 2017, the Ministry of Railways refused to follow its recommendation in six investigations against senior officials.
• Limited jurisdiction over CBI: CVC has supervisory powers over CBI. However, CVC does not have the power to call for any file from CBI or to direct CBI to investigate any case in a particular manner.
• Inadequate resources: CVC does not have adequate resources compared with number of complaints that it receives. It depends on the union budget for its meeting its expenses. It is a very small set up with sanctioned staff strength of 299 but with several posts remaining vacant. Whereas, it is supposed to check corruption in more than 1500 central government departments and ministries.
• Delays: When it receives a complaint, the CVC calls for inquiry reports from the appropriate agencies. As per the procedure, these reports are to be sent within a period of three months. However, in a majority of cases, there is considerable delay in finalising and submitting reports to the Commission.
• Declining quality of investigation: While the early steps such as raids are well publicised, the follow-ups, including investigation and charge sheet are weak. As a result, the conviction rates have been low.
• Opaque selection process: The working of the appointments committee is opaque. Details of the selection process, candidates considered for the positions, their qualification criteria etc. are rarely made available to the public. Also, there have been instances where members of the search committee were themselves applicants for the CVC.

WAY FORWARD:

• Synchronize with Lokpal: With the rise of Lokpal, the role and mandate of the CVC within the larger anti-corruption institutional regime requires careful thought and consideration. To begin with, a fully autonomous CVC covering all central public servants other than Group A officers must be placed in conjunction with the Lokpal.
• Transparent selection process: The government needs to fix certain minimum knowledge and experience criteria in vigilance for making appointments in the body. Also, it should be proactive in filling the vacancies
• Develop preventive vigilance: the CVC must devote considerable attention to preventive mechanisms to curb corruption rather than ex-post facto suggestions on action to be taken.  In order to meet this objective, the CVC should have a specialized wing to study the procedures and processes of decision making, particularly in corruption-prone areas such as allocation of public assets, disinvestment and tendering of public works.
• Ensure transparency: the CVC should operate in a totally open and transparent manner, including the disclosure of all its statistical details to the public. This should include all pending enquiry matters leading to final decisions, all recommendations made to the government in which action has not been taken, number of cases pending for prior sanction, number of cases in which prior sanction has been denied and grounds for doing so, etc.
• Constitutional status: there is growing recognition for a paradigm shift in the CVC’s mandate; what is required is its elevation into the league of effective constitutional bodies such as the Election Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. Enumerate the functions of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)? Critically examine the demand for granting constitutional recognition to the CVC?