Events & Issues

New Delhi, 25 April 2011

UN Charter On Sleaze

INDIA  PLEADS  GUILTY

By Col. (Dr.) P. K. Vasudeva (Retd)

The swirling eddy of various scams afflicting the Manmohan Singh-led UPA Government has earned it the nickname of being the most corrupt administration in recent history. Adding to its ignominy is the shocking disclosure of India being one of the few countries in the world that have not acceded to the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). 

Recall, this Convention, which came into force in on 14 December 2005, in accordance with the UN’s Article 68 (1) has been ratified by 140 countries. But, India, which regularly battles corruption of mammoth proportions, failed to endorse the convention, even after six years. What makes this all the more scandalous is that New Delhi signed the Convention in 2005, however, the UPA Government has steadfastly refused to ratify it.

The official reason is that India has not yet brought its domestic laws in line with the international Convention. However, it has been over six years and there has been little interest by the Government in making India less prone to corruption. Indeed, New Delhi stand is particularly strange since many Indian diplomats helped to pilot the Convention through the UN.

Recall, in a major breakthrough, the countries agreed on asset-recovery, as the fundamental principle of the Convention. Thus, Article 51 provides for the return of ill-gotten assets to the countries of origin. Given that this is an especially important issue for many developing countries like India, where high-level corruption has plundered the national wealth, and where resources are badly needed for reconstruction and rehabilitation of societies and the poor.

Undoubtedly, acceding to the Convention could have made it easier for India to repatriate the billions of dollars in ill-gotten wealth that have been stashed overseas. Especially against the backdrop of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee finding himself in complex negotiations with Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Germany to bring the looted assets back.

This is not all. Countries agreed to cooperate with one another in every aspect of the fight against corruption, including prevention, investigation, and the prosecution of offenders. Whereby nations are bound by the Convention to render specific forms of mutual legal assistance in gathering and transferring evidence for use in court

All concurred that the corrupt could be prosecuted after the Act, but first and foremost, it was imperative to prevent it. In fact, an entire chapter of the Convention is dedicated to prevention, with measures directed at both the public and private sectors. These include model preventive policies, such as the establishment of anti-corruption bodies and enhanced transparency in the financing of election campaigns and political parties.

Further, States must endeavour to ensure that their public services are subject to safeguards. In addition, public servants would have to be subject to codes of conduct, requirements for financial and other disclosures and appropriate disciplinary measures.

The Convention criminalises not only basic corruption such as bribery and the embezzlement of public funds but also trading in influence and the concealment and laundering of the proceeds of corruption. According to UN literature, "offences committed in support of corruption, including money-laundering and obstructing justice, are also dealt with. The Convention offences also deal with the problematic areas of private sector corruption."

More appalling is the situation in India wherein prosecution is dismally low because the Government delays sanctioning prosecution of public servants. According to Parliament’s Research Section (PRS), till the end of 2010, the Centre had not responded to 236 requests for prosecution by various agencies.

Of these, 155 requests (66 per cent) had been pending for over three months. State Governments were no better. There was no response to 84 requests for prosecution, of which 13 (15 per cent) were pending for more than three months.

Sadly, the institutions set up to tackle corruption cases tell another story. The Central Vigilance Commission, which tackles corruption cases in the Central Government, took up only six per cent cases for prosecution between 2004 and 2009. The rest, 94 per cent, were settled with departmental penalties only.

The main investigative agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is grossly under-staffed. As of December 2010, 21 per cent of the sanctioned posts in it were lying vacant. The criminal justice system, too, cuts a sorry figure. As of end 2010, there were 9,927 CBI cases pending in courts. Of these, 2,245 cases (23 per cent of the total) for more than 10 years.

Why has the UPA Government not ratified the UNCFC even after having become signatory of the Convention for the last six years? Simply, because it has no intention of changing the country’s legislation in conformation with the Convention. Whereby, politicians, bureaucrats and other private parties need to be included for prosecution and the money embezzled/stashed out of the country has to be recovered from the culprits.

All eyes are now on the 10-member drafting committee of a spanking new Jan Lokpal Bill. This panel comprising five members each from Government and civil society was set-up after Gandhian Anne Hazare undertook a fast-unto-death. Finally, after 98 long hours the Government agreed to bring the Jan Lokpal Bill in the monsoon session of the Parliament. According to civil society members the new draft Bill should is likely to be ready by June end.

Needless to say the present Lokpal Bill pending in Parliament for the last 42 years is a toothless wonder. As it has no powers to prosecute and is only a recommendatory authority to deal with the corrupt. Despite this, it too languishes for obvious reasons.

Importantly, according to Hazare and his team the Lokpal would be appointed at the Centre after the Jan Lokpal Bill is passed by 15th August 2011. The Lokpal would be a Constitutional authority like the Chief Election Commissioner of India and Comptroller and Auditor General of India along-with a Lokayukta in each State.

Under this Bill, all politicians including the Prime Minister and bureaucrats would be included and be charged directly by the Lokpal for their alleged corrupt deeds. The money involved in the embezzlement cases/stashed out of the country illegally would be recovered from them besides they would have to face imprisonment depending on the seriousness of the charges against them.

Clearly, the Lokpal would have all powers to bring all parties to trial in corruption cases within one year and in all of two years the guilty would be punished. Unlike, the Bofors scandal or the Bhopal gas tragedy cases which remain unresolved for over 25 years. The ball is in the Government’s court. If it means every word of eradicating the scourge of sleaze it should first and foremost ratify the UN Convention against corruption. ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)