Lokpal Bill: What India is fighting for

The 4 Cs that exist to fight corruption & their limitations In addition to courts, there are already four institutions to investigate corruption: 1) CENTRAL VIGILANCE COMMISSION (CVC) Apex watchdog founded in 1964 Mandate: Oversees and supervises vigilance and anticorruption work in all central government ministries, departments and PSUs. All group A offi cers (joint secretary and above) come under its ambit. Limitation: Needs prior sanction to prosecute. Cannot probe offi cials below Jt Secy level until government refers case. Limited staff, normally on deputation. In 2005-09, CVC slapped penalties on 13,061 CASES (average 2612 per year). 2) CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (CBI) Central investigative agency founded in 1941 Mandate: Investigates offences by central government and PSU employees. States too can seek help. Also probes criminal cases. Limitation: Cannot probe or frame charges on its own. Cases have to be referred. Is under government control and not autonomous. 3) COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL (CAG) Apex auditing body founded through an Act of Parliament Mandate: Audits accounts of all government departments/ ministries/PSUs. Look into discrepancies of expenses made by government/departments government controlled companies. Submits reports to Parliament that are then referred to the Public Accounts Committee. Limitation: Limited to audits and accounts. Cannot go into corruption as defi ned by the Prevention of Corruption Act; only powers to recommend; no investigative or prosecution powers.