ACB, Lokayukta fumble in graft battle

Karnataka's anti-corruption watchdogs have managed to secure conviction in less than one-fifth of all the cases booked against public servants, according to an analysis of government data.

This dismal statistic was furnished by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in the legislature and comes at a time when his government is fighting graft charges while ‘retail corruption’ continues unabated, going by the number of raids and searches on public servants.

Since its inception in 2016, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has booked 1,814 cases, of which conviction took place in just 10 cases. That’s a conviction rate of 0.55%.

The Lokayukta registered 4,680 cases between 2000 and 2021 and had conviction in 878 cases, which is a strike rate of 18%.

The ACB, which was the brainchild of the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, has overshadowed the Lokayukta to become Karnataka’s premier anti-corruption watchdog.

In the last three years, the ACB raided the homes and offices of 237 public servants and unearthed at least Rs 80 crore in cash and assets, according to hundreds of pages of information furnished by Bommai.

The ACB works under the Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms (DPAR) headed by the CM. “The ACB is aimed at curbing impropriety in the government machinery and improving the quality of administration,” Bommai said.

Ironically, the BJP in its 2018 election manifesto had promised to scrap the ACB and bring the Lokayukta's glory back.

Former Supreme Court Justice N Santosh Hegde, who served as Lokayukta (2006-11), is not surprised with the low conviction rates. “During my time, hardly 10-15% of charge-sheeted cases came to the court,” he said, blaming delays in the hearings of cases.

“The all-India conviction rate in all criminal cases is just about 27%.”

Former additional advocate-general A S Ponnanna said probes done by the ACB or Lokayukta lack the fundamentals of investigation.

“Investigation is carried out on perception. A person starting off with Rs 25,000 salary and having a bungalow is perceived to be corrupt. Courts don’t work on perception,” he said.

Public servants trapped while accepting a bribe also manage to get away.

“In trap cases, there must be a demand for bribe in exchange for a service and acceptance," Ponnanna said.

"In many cases, investigators can’t prove this. In disproportionate assets cases, investigators fail to understand the gap between what the courts require and the investigation material produced," he said, arguing for better training and faith in the system.

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