Don’t probe babus without govt nod, says House panel

AS PER THE PROPOSAL, GOVT CAN TAKE UP TO FOUR MONTHS TO DECIDE IF COPS SHOULD FILE A BRIBERY CASE AGAINST THE PUBLIC SERVANT

NEW DELHI: Taking action against corrupt officials could soon get harder.

A parliamentary panel has backed a move to bar anti-graft agencies from probing bribery allegations against public servants withoutthegovernment’sapproval.

The government can take up to four months to decide if the police should register the bribery case, and there will be no penalty if it takes longer. However, its sanction would not be required if the official is caught accepting a bribe red-handed.

The proposed move would cover states as well as the Centre, with governments at both levels getting the power to decide on probes against their respective officials.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had opposed the proposal, which intends to protect honest senior government officials, ministers and top managers in public sector firms from undue harassment. It told the select committee — set up by the Rajya Sabha to study proposed amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act — that such an action would impede the investigation process and delay prosecution of corrupt officials.

Even now, bureaucrats are protected by a procedural requirement after the completion of the probe — they cannot be tried in court without governmental sanction. While the Centre allowed prosecution in 239 cases under this provision through 2015, it rejected 39 requests — mostly pertaining to officials in the banking sector.

The panel, which also okayed provisions to bring the private sector under the anti-graft law by explicitly making it a crime to give bribes, submitted its report in the Rajya Sabha last week.

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