Editorial
ACC as anti-graft body
Retain the enabling provisions
THE parliamentary standing committee on law ministry has been scrutinizing amendment proposals to ACC Act, 2004 submitted before it in bill form on February 28. It seems to have reached a water-shed. In the backdrop of ACC's reservations on some of the proposals, with civil society including jurists, the media and development partners expressing concern over the fetters being put on the anti-graft body, a rethink is apparently going on. Hopefully, it will lead to retaining the effectiveness of the ACC, and if necessary, add value to it, rather than curtailing its powers in any fundamental way.
The point at issue is the proposal insisting that permission of the government be sought and obtained to process anti-corruption cases against government officials. The chief of the parliamentary standing committee Suranjit Sengupta seems seized with the issue while finance minister AMA Muhith has evinced an active interest in giving his input. He reportedly suggested in a letter that the 'mandatory provision' to take a prior government permission to file corruption cases against government officials be scrapped. Also, the finance minister is said to be for the ACC having authority to appoint its own secretary. Suranjit's position seems to be that 'if a government servant is personally involved in corruption and assists in committing corruption the state cannot take his responsibility'. In other words, taking prior approval from the government won't be necessary there. It's cutting too fine; a stone-cast legalistic expression may be difficult to provide drawing a line between personal and otherwise. It is good to hear though that the committee has decided to examine laws, jurisdictions and procedures of FBI in the USA and CBI in India. We understand that the latest meeting of the parliamentary standing committee questioned the proposal for according blanket coverage to government officials.
The proposed provisions will not only curtail the independent working of the ACC but will also lead to discriminatory treatment between citizens and government officials. It will negate the constitutional principle of equality before law as has been pointed out by the eminent jurist Shahdeen Malik.
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