THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:The Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department has recommended to the government to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act to avoid delay in obtaining prosecution sanction order (PSO) in Vigilance cases.Its work study report on the VACB says that trial prosecution proceedings of hundreds of cases are stayed owing to the complications in obtaining PSO. “In some cases the PC Act is omitted and cases are chargesheeted in the local courts under IPC offences which leads to the acquittal of the accused,” the report said.
Revision of the Vigilance Manual and starting new Vigilance courts and fasttrack courts are the other major recommendations.
The report also called for exploring the possibility of designating government pleaders exclusively for handling Vigilance cases.
It said there was too much delay in the Advocate General office in connection with the timely filing of appeals, obtaining copies of appeals etc. The study team also suggested a public awareness campaign on the VACB. It said that the phone numbers, including toll-free numbers and e-mail IDs for lodging complaints can be printed on various types of forms for availing services from government offices and departments.
The team reported that the VACB lacked proper training for the investigating officers and ministerial staff.
A regular mechanism has been proposed to ensure hitech training and sound legal knowledge for the staff is essential.