CVC asks banks, government departments to send factual report on corruption complaints in one month

A view of the Central Vigilance Commission building, in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: V. Sudershan

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has asked public sector banks, insurance companies, and government departments to provide factual reports on corruption complaints sent to them by the probity watchdog within a month.

The move is aimed at ensuring timely action on graft complaints and checking inordinate delays, officials said on April 10.

“Chief Vigilance Officers (CVOs) are required to submit the factual report to the commission, on the basis of scrutiny of relevant records/documents only, within a period of 30 days of the receipt of the complaint/communication from the commission,” the CVC said in the latest order.

The CVOs act as a distant arm of the commission to check corruption.

“While forwarding the factual report, the CVOs should also give their recommendations/views in clear terms,” it said in the order issued to all CVOs of central government departments, public sector banks, insurance companies, and central public sector undertakings, among others.

The CVC has modified its earlier directive issued in August 2020 and said that “the commission has decided to forward complaints to the CVOs concerned for obtaining factual reports, if necessary”.

In its 2020 order, the probity watchdog had asked the CVOs to furnish investigation reports on corruption complaints within three months from the date of receipt of references from the CVC.

In terms of the powers under Section 8(1)(d) of the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003, the commission seeks reports from CVOs of departments/organizations on complaints received by it, it had said.

The CVOs were then asked to personally review all such complaints pending for investigation in the organisations in the first week of every month and take necessary steps towards expediting/finalisation of reports and their processing.

As many as 231 complaints sent to the CVOs by the Commission were pending for inquiry and report as on December 31, 2021, according to CVC’s annual report for 2021. Of these, 61 were pending for inquiry and reports for more than three years.