The
Government have recently enacted the Andhra Pradesh Civil Services
(Disciplinary Proceedings Tribunal) Act, 1960 and the rules under the Act will
be issued shortly. They have also constituted a new Anti-Corruption Bureau with
effect from 2-1-1961 to deal with cases of corruption on the part of Government
servants and issued certain instructions regarding the scope and functions of
Anti-Corruption Bureau in the G.O. cited. The following consolidated
instructions are issued for the general guidance of all Heads of Departments
and Departments of Secretariat in dealing with cases of corruption:
I. Definition
and meaning of corruption:
The word "corruption" has not been defined specifically in any enactment. Rule 2(a) of the A.C.S. (Disciplinary Proceedings Tribunal) Rules, 1953 defines corruption as follows: -
"Corruption shall have the same meaning as criminal misconduct in the discharge of official duties under section 5(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (Central Act II of 1947)"
The following are some of the forms in which corruption is generally noticed: -
a) Money paid in return for an official favour. For example, money paid to an Engineer by a contractor for favourable check-measurement of the work.
b) Money extorted under duress, or threat or false pretences. For example, a Police Officer arresting one of the parties in a civil dispute and taking money to drop further action.
c) Exacting money by refraining to take action required by law or departmental orders, for example, refraining from taking action against persons engaged in illicit distillation of arrack or dealing in adulterated food stuffs, etc.
d) Mamools paid not for any favour, but in pursuance of an established practice and usually for the enjoyment of a legitimate right, for example, money paid by ryot to Public Works Department officials on the basis of acreage for the supply of water irrigation.
e) Supplies given by subordinate officers to their superiors in camps or headquarters. f) Money or other supplies received by an officer in power from a subordinate for his transfer to a particular station, or for his inclusion in promotion list etc.
II. SOURCE OF INFORMATION:
(i) The Chief sources of information are petitions received by the Government, Heads of Departments and the Anti-Corruption Bureau. These petitions may be anonymous or pseudonymous or signed.
(ii) Anonymous or pseudonymous petitions should not ordinarily be relied upon. Where, however, such petitions contain specific allegations or factual allegations capable of verification, a probe into which is likely to disclose an act of corruption, action n1ay be proposed. Cases where there are persistent allegations of corruption, and the officer has been of bad reputation over a' long period may also be referred to the Bureau, but such cases should be rare.
(iii) Occasionally, information against an officer may become available to the Anti-Corruption Bureau or to any other investigating officer while conducting an enquiry against another officer.
PART - II
I. Procedure to be followed on petitions received: -
1)
Petitions received by Government:
Casual petitions i.e., petitions which are not sufficiently precise, and which make allegations against officers of considerable standing whose integrity has not been previously suspected, should be examined on their merits in the Departments concerned and a decision reached as to whether or not there is prima-facie case or adequate grounds for further examination. Petitions engineered by disgruntled elements against officials with a good reputation should be rejected and ignored. Vexatious enquiries which are likely to become an unnecessary source of irritation, annoyance or embarrassment should be avoided. Consultation with Subordinate Officers may in certain cases help the Government in taking decision quickly but in no case should such consultation be with officers below the level of the Head of the Department. Where Heads of Department are so consulted this should be distinctly told that the matter should not go beyond them without the specific orders of Government. The Head of the Department should also at the same time be informed that if he feels that he cannot send any useful remarks without consulting his subordinates, he should report the fact to Government and suggest the particular officer or officers who is to be consulted. The Government will then consider the matter and issue suitable instructions either authorising the Head of Department to consult the officer or officers suggested by him or suggesting some other alternative. If the petitions are against the Head of Departments themselves, the administrative departments should not refer the petitions to them but examine whether there is a prima-facie case or adequate grounds for further investigation.
In the case of subordinates of the Board of Revenue, the District Collector may be consulted directly instead of through the Board. In cases where the allegations are against Non-Gazetted Officers or Gazetted Officers other than the Collectors or District Heads, the petitions may be forwarded to the District Heads for enquiry and report to Government through the Board of Revenue.
Where it is considered that there is a case for investigation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the case should be first examined in the administrative department concerned and sent to the General Administration (SC) Department for advice. Cases against I.AS. and I.P.S. (including select list of officers holding cadre posts) and Heads of Departments should be submitted to Chief Secretary for orders before referring them to the Anti-Corruption Bureau. If it is considered that investigation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau is necessary, against Gazetted Officers orders should be obtained in circulation to the Minister or the Ministers concerned and the Chief Minister. In the cases against Non-Gazetted Officers, it is not necessary to obtain orders in circulation. The Administrative Departments concerned themselves may address the Anti-Corruption Bureau direct for further investigation.
In all cases, before a petition is referred to the Anti-Corruption Bureau for enquiry, it is desirable that the Head of the Department should be consulted in the first instance unless it is felt that a reference to the Head of the Department may lead to the loss of secrecy, or the allegations are numerous and specific or are of a very serious nature and may be true.
When Departments of the Secretariat take action or forward such petitions to the Anti-Corr.uption Bureau for investigation, they are requested to inform the Heads of Departments etc., when there is a definite indication that copies of the petitions have been forwarded to them, not to make enquiries in regard to those cases independently of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, in view of their direction to the Anti-Corruption Bureau for doing the same.
Where it is proposed to take action on anonymous or pseudonymous petitions it must be authorised by a Minister or an Officer, not lower in rank than the Secretary to Government. Where an I.C.S. or an I.AS. Officer (including a select list .9fficer holding a cadre post) or Heads of Departments are involved, the Chief Secretary to Government 5hould be consulted first. No action need be taken at Government level on copies of anonymous or pseudonymous petitions received by Government where the original is addressed to a Departmental officer.
2)
Petitions received by Heads of Departments and District Heads:
In all cases where petitions alleging specific instances of corruption against Gazetted Officers are received by the Heads of Departments or District Heads, the administrative officers should submit them to the Government in the concerned administrative department, with their recommendation. In making these recommendations the administrative officers are expected to make a close by examination of the petitions taking into consideration the past reputation of the official complained against. In respect of Non-Gazetted Officers, the administrative departments for the Heads of Departments should first satisfy themselves on their own knowledge or through departmental enquiries that there is a prima facie case, before they refer the matter to the Anti-Corruption Bureau for enquiry. It must be remembered that as a rule only cases where there are reasonable grounds for suspicion against the Government servants will be referred to the Anti-Corruption Bureau for enquiry. Where persistent allegations are made against an officer with a generally bad reputation over a long period such a reference may also be made but such instances will be rare. Petitions prima facie engineered by disgruntled elements against honest officials should be ignored and rejected. Personal enquiries into cases of corruption against officials of Revenue Department by Collectors may usually be restricted at their discretion to cases against officers of the rank of Deputy Tahsildars and above and those relating to the officers below the rank of Deputy Tahsildars, may be investigated by the Revenue Divisional Officers or Tahsildars concerned.
3)
Petitions received by Anti-Corruption Bureau: -
Petitions containing allegations against Government servants received by the Anti-Corruption Bureau staff, should in respect of Gazetted Officers be submitted to Government along with the preliminary report after discreet enquiries have been made Suo-moto. In respect of Non-Gazetted Officers, the petitions received by the Anti-Corruption Bureau may be forwarded to the Heads of Departments direct along with preliminary report for necessary action. However, in cases where the Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau considers that no further action is necessary on any petition, he need not submit it with any report to Government or to the Heads of Departments as instructed earlier.
II.
Investigation of cases by the Anti-Corruption Bureau: -
The Bureau should conduct an open or regular enquiry in the case of Gazetted Officers only after obtaining the orders of the Government. In the case of non-Gazetted Officers, the Director of the Bureau may order such an enquiry with the concurrence of the Head of the Department concerned. In the case of any difference of opinion between the Director and the Head of a Department, the Director may refer the matter to the Government for decision.
In investigation of cases by the Police Officers of the Bureau, the Officers of other Departments drafted into the Bureau should assist or guide the Police Officers in the investigation of cases of their respective or allied Departments. They should also assist the Bureau in gathering of intelligence about the existence of corruption and the lacunae, if any, in the administrative and financial procedures followed in the Departments concerned and suggest measures for reducing the scope for corruption.
It is the duty of the Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau to satisfy himself in the first place that the persons who come forward to give evidence are themselves reliable and are not inspired by personal motives, such as revenge etc.
During the regular investigation of a corruption case, the accused officer, may, if he wishes, be given an opportunity to explain the circumstances or case against him before a responsible officer of the Anti-Corruption Bureau so that the truth could be elicited and further investigation into the allegations which are satisfactorily explained need not be pursued. Such opportunity should be given only during a regular investigation and not during the preliminary and discreet enquiry. The accused officer should. be contacted personally at home or office and should not be summoned for the purpose unless he agrees to meet an officer of the Bureau anywhere in the state at his office. In the case of Gazetted Officers, the contact should be by a gazetted officer of equivalent or preferably higher rank.
III. Traps:
It is considered that well-planned and well-directed traps have gone a long way in apprehending corrupt public servants in flagrant delicto and in successfully prosecuting them in a Court of Law. An Officer who is notorious for corruption and an adept in that art cannot easily be booked in the usual way and corruption charges proved against him successfully unless there is a direct trap. Such extreme cases will, therefore, require special treatment. Therefore, the Anti-Corruption Bureau may also resort to laying of traps, using their discretion well in choosing cases for laying traps and observing the other usual formalities required for resorting to such a course. Traps in the case of Gazetted Officers should be with the permission of the Chief Secretary.
IV. Assistance
to Anti-Corruption Bureau and production of official records:
In the course of investigation, the Anti-Corruption Bureau may require official records for reference. The Heads of Offices concerned should hand over the official records to.the requisitioning officer of the Anti-Corruption Bureau when demanded and the permission of the Head of the Department is not ordinarily required for this purpose. The Head of the office should render all such assistance as may be required by the investigation staff. When the Head of the office is away on tour and if he is not likely to return to the Headquarters soon, the ministerial head of the office should obtain the orders of the Head of the office by post urgently for producing records to the Anti-Corruption Bureau. The records should not only be produced on the spot for perusal but should also be handed over to the officer of the Anti-Corruption Bureau if he desires.
Regarding the requisition of records of Government for purposes of investigation against a non-Secretariat Officer, the request should come from the Director of Anti-Corruption Bureau who should be in a better position to decide whether such records are strictly essential for the purposes of investigation. As Government records often contain minutes of Ministers, Cabinet decisions etc., they should not be made available to the Anti-Corruption Bureau without sufficient justification. In respect of records from the offices of Heads of Department or Collectors, a Gazetted Officer of the Anti-Corruption Bureau should alone call for the records when the investigation is against Gazetted Officers and an Inspector of Police or his equivalent in ranking in the Anti-Corruption Bureau, when the investigation is against Non-Gazetted Officers.
V. Officers authorised to give assurance to the witnesses: (omitted)
PART
- III
Report of the Anti-Corruption Bureau: -
On completion of investigation and open or regular enquiry, the Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau should send his final report to Government through the Vigilance Commission both in the case of Gazetted and Non-Gazetted Officers in two parts i.e., Parts 'A' and 'B' in duplicate. Part'A' should contain a secret report given in complete confidence containing full particulars of the investigations for the information of the Government, and Part'B' should contain confidential report of only relevant information and also the statements of witnesses to be communicated by Government to the Heads of Department or the Tribunal for Disciplinary Proceedings for taking disciplinary action. The duplicate copy of Part'B' and the statements of witnesses should not contain any signature or indication as to who took the statements. The Vigilance Commission will forward the original copy of Part 'A' and both copies of Part 'B' (together with the statements of witnesses) with its advice to the administrative department concerned.
The Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau should also send simultaneously a copy of Part 'A" to the concerned administrative department for any comments which it may wish to forward to the Commission. Similarly, a copy of Part 'A' should be sent to the Chief Secretary, General Administration (SC) Department for information and circulation to the Chief Minister and the Minister concerned in advance. After circulation the report will be filed in General Administration (SC) Department. An extract of the minute of the Minister concerned or the Chief Minister, if any, should be communicated to the Administrative Department concerned by the General Administration (SC) Department. The Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau may also send direct to the Head of the Department Part 'B' of the report in cases relating to the Non-Gazetted Officer.
The administrative department should send only the copy of part 'B' report either to the Head of the Department- or to the Tribunal, as the case may be, along with one set ·of copies of statements of witnesses for further formal enquiry. The latter should be attested by an officer in the concerned administrative department before transmission to the Tribunal or the Head of the Department. Part 'A' of the report should not be communicated to any of them.
When making
references to Heads of Departments about enquiries made the Anti-Corruption
Bureau or while issuing orders in cases of corruption against Government
servants etc., the sources of investigation should not be divulged. So, instead
of using the expression "It has been ascertained by the Anti-Corruption
Bureau etc." the following expression may be used: -
"lt has been ascertained by discreet enquiries through the appropriate departments etc."
Action to be taken in the Secretariat Department on the report of the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
After the report of the Anti-Corruption Bureau is received, the Government in the Administrative Department concerned in the case of Gazetted Officers or the Head of the Department in the case of Non-Gazetted Officers will decide:
1) whether criminal
prosecution should be launched; or
2) whether departmental
proceedings will be sufficient; or
3) whether the enquiry should be entrusted to the Tribunal for Disciplinary Proceedings.
If Criminal prosecution is to be launched in the case of Gazetted Officers, the Government will take appropriate action in consultation with the Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau. In the case of Non-gazetted Officers, the Heads of Department will take further action for the prosecution in consultation with the Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau. In a case in which the Director of the Bureau, himself proposes launching of criminal prosecution direct he should obtain the sanction of the Government in the case of Gazetted Officers and the appointing authority concerned in the case of Non-Gazetted Officers.
If Departmental action alone is considered sufficient, in the case of Gazetted Officers, the Government will take appropriate action under the Andhra Pradesh Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules. In the case of Non-Gazetted Officers, the Head of the Department will take similar action.
In the case of Gazetted Officers, the Government will decide whether the matter should be referred to the Tribunal for Disciplinary Proceedings and if they decide so, they should send all the relevant records to the Tribunal for Disciplinary Proceedings for necessary action.
In respect of the Non-Gazetted Officers, drawing Rs. 150 and above, the Head of the Department will consider the report of the Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau and forward it to the Government in the administrative department concerned for orders if he consider that such cases need be referred to the Tribunal for Disciplinary Proceedings.
Where the enquiry is to be entrusted to the Tribunal for Disciplinary Proceedings, the staff of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Departmental Heads should help it in securing the necessary documents and production of witnesses.
After the enquiry, by the Tribunal for Disciplinary Proceedings, or by the Departmental authority, as the case may be, is over and a provisional conclusion as to the punishment to be imposed is reached, appropriate action should be taken as indicated in the Andhra Pradesh Civil Services (Classification Control and Appeal) Rules, or the corresponding disciplinary rules issued for the purpose. *[A copy of the report of the forum that has conducted the enquiry, whether it be the Tribunal for Disciplinary Proceedings or the Commissioner for Departmental Enquiries, should be communicated to the Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau, along with a copy of the final orders passed by the Government. As the report is intended only for the information of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau should not, however, comment on the report of the Tribunal for Disciplinary Proceedings or the Commissioner for Departmental Enquiries.] *Substituted by Memorandum No. 2317/Ser.D/73, G.A. (Ser.D) Dept., dt.25-6-74.
The above instructions will not apply to the officers in the Judicial Department of and above the rank of Judicial Second-Class Magistrates and the Officers and staff of High Court.
PART-V
MISCELLANEOUS
1. Government servants against whom the Anti-Corruption Bureau are making enquiries, should not be granted leave, except under exceptional circumstances, to prevent them from tampering with the course of an enquiry. Where leave on Medical Certificate is asked for, the Medical Certificate should be got scrutinised by the proper Medical Officer of the Government before leave is granted.
2. If a Government servant against whom charges of corruption are pending, attains the age of superannuation and if the charges are not so serious as to necessitate suspension i.e., charges likely to entail removal or dismissal, he may be permitted to retire on a provisional pension. In the final orders that are to be passed on the charges a suitable reduction in pension may be made, if necessary.
If, however,
the charges are so serious as to entail removal or dismissal, the Government
servant should not be required or permitted to retire but placed under
suspension. Where a government servant is placed under suspension he should be
specifically informed that he would not be allowed to retire on the date on
which he is due to retire, pending conclusion of the departmental proceedings.
The enquiry should naturally be expedited, and the Bureau therefore informed of
the action taken.
(Paras 3 and 4 regarding assurance to witnesses omitted)
5. Where there is good reason to believe that the allegations made against a Government servant are false or malicious and he wishes to take legal proceedings against the person making them, the Head of the Department or the District Head of the Office, in which the Government servant is employed, as the case may be, may arrange for the necessary legal aid by the appropriate law officer of the Government. The sanction of the State Government or of the Head of the Department as the case may be, is necessary for granting legal aid in cases where the person defamed is the Head of the Department or the District Head.
APPENDIX
ASSURANCE FORM TO BE GIVEN TO WITNESSES WHO ASK FOR IT IN WRITING (omitted)
