How to Control Increasing Corruption?

“Power tends to corrupt,& absolute power corrupts absolute.” - John Acton Corruption means lack of integrity. Some advantages, inconsistent with official duty & the rights of others. It is not only about bribery, it also relates to the abuse of power in decision- making processes. It is a form of behavior that deviates from ethics, morality, tradition & law. It is a global phenomenon which has progressively increased over time, & is now rampant in all societies across the world. In simple words, corruption is use of public office for private gain. Corruption in India is a consequence of the nexus between bureaucrats, politicians & criminals. Earlier, bribes were paid for getting wrong things done at right time. It is a vicious circle which keeps going on. It does not shock Indians anymore to know that not only the politicians, ministers & bureaucrats are corrupt, but even the judges, professors, doctors & NGOs, etc., also belong to the same category. Corruption is prevalent in almost every section of the society & at every level. Further, corruption has become something respectable in India, because respectable people are involved in it. It has its way because everyone is happy & no one has any problem with it. All of us break laws everyday & we also love the fact that we can do so when it is convenient for us.

The phenomenon of corruption is witnessed everywhere in the world, & every place on earth place on earth is similar in this perspective. What differs is the magnitude of the problem. Talking about global corruption, the Transparency International, which is an NGO based in Berlin, annually publishes Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which grades the countries in accordance with the corruption persisting therein. According to the 2008 CPI, the least corrupt countries are Denmark, New Zealand & Sweden, whereas the most corrupt country is Somalia which ranks 180th, & UK 16th in the list. Causes, things & situations that water the poisonous plant of corruption are many & complex. Some of the leading causes include overpopulation, unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, and low wages of government official & monopoly of the elite class. It is always the small fry who is sacrificed in any scam; the elite are never caught. It is no wonder that the Indian democracy is fast turning into a system “by the elite, for the elite & of the elite”. Corruption is like diabetes; it can be controlled but not altogether eliminated. It may seem to be the ultimate truth to many of us.

However, some are of the opinion that abolishing the evil of corruption is not totally impossible. Actually, it is quite possible to have a corruption free state. However, it is a highly difficult target to achieve because it would warrant cooperation from each & every citizen, every individual, every institution &governing body right from the grass- roots level to the elite class. What needs to be awakened is the inner soul, & one’s moral & ethical values. There are some specific measures to control the increasing corruption. The Right to Information Act (RIT) is one of them. Generally, causes of corruption are either dropped on some “technicalities” or the progress in these cases is very slow due to various reasons. It is because of this fact that corrupt officials go scot free. One can put an end to this using RIT. It gives one all the required information about the government is doing with our tax payments. "We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act. "

Cases relating to the corruption:-
• C.M. Girish Babu v C.B.I., Cochin, High Court of Kerala 24/2/2009. Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 - section - and 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) - conviction under - was acquitted of the charge under Section 120B of the IPC -the appellant preferred an appeal to the Kerala High Court at Ernakulam, which dismissed the appeal by its judgment dated 28th November, 2007. However, the Appellate Court reduced the substantive sentence to that of one year only. The High Court acquitted the first accused of all the charges against which State preferred no appeal. This appeal is brought, by special leave against the judgment of the High Court - Leave granted

• Anand Sharad Chandra Oka v University of Mumbai and others 4/2/2008. Words and Phrases - aggrieved party - meaning of - electoral roll for electing members of the Senate - university calling for applications from graduates - the writ-petitioner obtained B.A. Degree from Bombay University. Thus, the writ-petitioner was graduated from the respondent-University. His name, therefore, can be registered in the electoral roll for electing members of Senate. He was not, therefore, an 'aggrieved party'.- Leave granted

• State of Orissa and another v M/s. Tata Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. and other 4/2/2008. Writ Petition -- Technical bids of VISA and TISCO could not have been rejected at the threshold without proper evaluation in terms of eligibility condition set out in the concerned advertisement - it would be desirable for the State Government to ensure that the technical bids and the revised financial bids to be submitted within three weeks as directed earlier, be evaluated and informed

• Shfaq Khan and another v State of U.P. and other 1/2/2008. Indian Penal code, 1860 - section 420 and 424 - U P Gangsters and Anti - Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1980 - writ Petition filed for quashing the FIR - The stand in the writ petition was that even if the FIR is taken at its face value, there is no scope for holding that the appellants committed cheating or an offence punishable under the Prevention Act.

The  author can be reached at: pallavighorpade@legalserviceindia.com