'200 corruption cases pending in court for over 20 yrs'

Two hundred corruption cases against government officials are pending in courts for more than 20 years, but once a proposed amendment to anti-corruption law is passed, such situations will be a thing of past.

There are 1,416 cases waiting for closure for more than 10 years, while 2,099 cases are pending between five and ten years, 1,015 cases between three and five years and 1,905 less than three years.

This “very ghastly picture” was drawn by Chief Vigilance Commissioner K V Chowdary when he appeared before the Rajya Sabha Select Committee, which was examining the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2013.

According to the amendment proposed for Section 4 of Prevention of Corruption Act, a special judge shall ensure the completion of the trial within a period of two years If the trial is not completed within two years, the special judge should record the reasons. The judge can seek more extensions, but the “total period for completing the trial shall not exceed four years”.

Supporting the provision in the bill for setting a time limit, Chowdary said, “it makes no sense to have a trial after 20 years in corruption cases”. Of the total 6,635 cases, he said, even if one removes around 2,600 cases, which are less than four years, there are still 4,000 cases pending.

His comments are part of the proceedings of the committee placed in the Rajya Sabha last Friday.

However, in the panel, questions were raised whether Parliament can fix such a time frame and what would happen if the trial is not completed in four years. Chowdary said judgements by the supreme court show that if a trial is not conducted within a reasonable time, it will be quashed irrespective of the merit of the case.

MPs also asked the same questions to which the top officials of department of personnel and training (DoPT) said the accused would not be acquitted on that basis.

In its report, the panel headed by BJP MP Bhupender Yadav expressed hope that judges would complete trial within two years without seeking extension.