VISAKHAPATNAM: As many as 5,000 criminal cases booked under various sections of the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act are pending in the country, Central Vigilance Commissioner KV Chowdary has said. Of them, around 3,500 have been pending for the past five years and 300 more are pending in 80 courts for the last 20 years, he said while speaking at a programme - “Administering of Mass Integrity Pledge to Eradicate Corruption,” conducted by the Visakhapatnam Port Trust, here on Saturday.
Chowdary said the cases had been pending in 80 criminal courts in the country, including Special Courts for CBI, Special Courts for Economic Offences and a few others, blaming it on staff crunch and complicated legal procedures.
The Vigilance Commissioner said that they receive around 80,000 cases a year, in which actionable cases are around 2,000 to 3,000. The CVC, Chowdary said, conducted a survey in August 2015 to ascertain time taken to dispose of a case. “After a complaint is lodged, we start inquiry and if it’s a fact, then disciplinary action has to be taken against the accused. The process has to be completed in 18 months. But, the survey found that it is taking 94 months,” he said.
After taking several remedial measures, the Vigilance department re-conducted the survey again in September last year which found the time taken was around 60 months. Chowdary said by next year, the time would come down to less than 20 months.
The Vigilance Commissioner also said that the ‘Prevention of Corruption Act’ is likely to be amended, resulting in action not only against the officers who take bribes but also people/private organisations who offer bribe.