SCAM/CORRUPTION 2014

(January to August - 2014

Compiled By
Fr. Paul G Documentation Centre

Lokpal Bill gets President's nod (5)

NEW DELHI: The much-awaited Lokpal Bill on Wednesday got the assent from President Pranab
Mukherjee, providing for creation of an anti-graft watchdog which will bring under its purview even the
Prime Minister with certain safeguards. The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on December 17 and by
the Lok Sabha the next day. The Lok Sabha secretariat had yesterday sent to the Law Ministry a copy of
the Bill which has been signed by Speaker Meira Kumar. The Bill was then forwarded to the Rashtrapati
Bhavan for the President's assent, official sources said. The President has signed the Lokpal Bill, the
sources said. The Bill takes the shape of the Act after the signing by the President and following certain
procedures. After the assent by the President, secretary legislative department in the law ministry will sign
it and send it for publication in the official gazette. The Bill aims to set up institution of Lokpal at the
Centre and Lokayuktas in states by law enacted by respective legislatures within one year of coming into
force of the Act. The Bill was first passed by the Lok Sabha at the fag end of the winter session of 2011,
but not by the Rajya Sabha, where it was debated but the house was adjourned before voting on it. Later,
a select committee of the Rajya Sabha had suggested changes in the Bill, most of which which were
incorporated and approved by the Union Cabinet. Following the amendments, the Rajya Sabha had
passed the bill. The Lokpal had become a bone of contention among ruling Congress, opposition BJP
and civil societies with each one of them wanting to make changes in it to make it more effective. (Times
of India 1/1/14)
Siddiqui, Kushwaha among 19 booked in Maya memorial scam (5)
Lucknow: The UP Vigilance Establishment on Wednesday lodged an FIR against former ministers
Naseemuddin Siddiqui and Babu Singh Kushwaha, along with 17 other serving and retired government
officials in connection with the alleged irregularities mounting to Rs 1410 crore in the purchase of
sandstone for the construction of memorials and parks during the erstwhile BSP government. The former
ministers were booked on the recommendation of Lokayukta N K Mehrotra, who had initiated an inquiry
and later indicted 199 people in connection with the alleged irregularities. Mehrotra's report had declared
that the sandstone was purchased at exorbitant rates by Rajkiya Nirman Nigam, the government agency
that handled the construction work. An FIR under IPC 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant),
120-B (criminal conspiracy) and sections of Prevention of Corruption Act against Siddiqui, Kushwaha,
former managing director of the Nigam CP Singh, former joint director of Mining Directorate S A Farooqui,
and several other government officials has been lodged at Gomti Nagar police station. Siddiqui and
Kushwaha were ministers in the PWD and Mining, respectively, during Mayawati's regime. While Siddiqui
is currently BSP's national general secretary, Kushwaha, after being expelled from the party in 2011, is
currently lodged in jail in connection with the NRHM scam. Gomti Nagar station officer Umesh Bahadur
Singh said the FIR has been lodged by Vigilance Establishment's Lucknow sector. (Indian Express
2/1/14)
8 cops handpicked for anti-corruption bureau (5)

This is a collection of previously published news and views from the print as well as the electronic media, whose reference
marked at the end of each news items. Department of Documentation and Library (DDL) of the Indian Social Institute, New
Delhi neither claims to the veracity of the facts in the news nor subscribes to the views expressed.

NEW DELHI: Seven police inspectors and an assistant commissioner were transferred to Delhi
government's Anti-Corruption Bureau on Saturday on the government's direction to fill up vacancies.
Around 25 more cops have been sought for the unit which faces an acute staff crunch. Interestingly, the
government has named the policemen it wants, indicating it has done its homework on them. However, it
has not stated the criteria for handpicking these personnel. The inspectors brought into the ACB are
Rohtash Kumar, who was SHO of Farsh Bazar (east Delhi); Hemant Kumar, who was in the 1st Battalion
of Delhi Armed Police (DAP); Rakesh Kumar from the licensing wing; Jarnail Singh from the vigilance cell;
Arun Chauhan from crime branch; Dalip Singh from the 3rd Battalion of DAP, and Sushil Kumar from
Special Branch. ACP Crime Branch Swatantra Gill has also been transferred as demanded. One of the
seven inspectors was associated with the initial probe into the fatal shootout between Ponty Chadha and
his brother, and was sent to the district lines after being named in a controversy over facilitating illegal
bore wells in his area a year ago, an officer said. Four people have been moved out of the ACB in
'routine' transfers. Sources told TOI that work has already begun on a "crucial file" in which a few former
transport commissioners and a top IAS officer are to be examined as well. The ACB head reports to the
chief secretary and the unit at present has a strength of two ACPs and 11 inspectors. The sanctioned
strength is of 9 ACPs and 30 inspectors, an officer said. (Times of India 5/1/14)
CBI Probing Alleged Corruption in Railways' VIP Quota Tickets (5)
NEW DELHI: CBI is probing alleged corruption to the tune of crores of rupees in sale of VIP or
emergency quota tickets in the Railways and has sought records for the last two years, claiming that even
signatures of MPs have been forged to confirm the tickets in some cases. On an average day, as many
as 35,000 tickets in various classes of all trains that originate from Delhi or cross the city are reserved
under the emergency quota which is also known as VIP or Headquarters quota The agency suspects that
certain vested interests within various unions of railways and in alleged conspiracy with private travel
operators confirm these tickets against a premium, official sources said here. The sources said that the
agency had some requests which had forged signatures and in some cases even the letter heads were
fake. Initially, the probe may be limited to the national capital but, if required, it may cover other states,
they said. CBI has already registered a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) last week against unknown persons to
carry out a thorough probe for misuse of the railway tickets issued under quota to various railway unions.
The quota is meant for emergencies which includes medical necessity but the agency has alleged that
the process was abused by certain vested interests. It had found some related documents while looking
into the functioning of railways as part of its probe into the alleged bribery case involving the nephew of
former railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. In May last year, the CBI had also searched the office of an
RPF inspector who had allegedly helped the sacked Railway Board member, Mahesh Kumar, besides
shifting some movable assets from his Mumbai residence. Many documents which pointed to a scam in
railway ticketing were recovered from there. CBI had, during a discreet probe, claimed to have found that
the emergency quota tickets to unions were being handed over to some travel agents who used to charge
a huge price for confirming a wait-listed ticket. A senior CBI official claimed it was a full-fledged racket.
The official said the travel agents had been identified and would be called for examination soon besides
some of the office bearers of a few railway unions who had allowed confirmation of wait listed tickets.
(New Indian Express 6/1/14)
Anti-corruption helpline raises hopes in Delhi (5)
New Delhi: A day after it was launched, the new anti-corruption helpline number has the people of Delhi
hoping that incidents of corruption faced by the common man will come down drastically. This is the third
promise of the Aam Aadmi Party to be fulfilled, after the decision of free supply of over 650 litres of water
to each household, and the halving of electricity charges for those using up to 400 units a month. Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced Wednesday a helpline to report incidents of bribe. Anyone who
is asked to pay a bribe by any official in the capital can seek help on phone number 011-27357169.

Activist Subhash Chandra Agarwal, who has filed more than 6,000 Right to Information (RTI) applications,
said even though the success of this "new experiment" is still to be experienced, the very announcement
of such a helpline could impact those seeking to enrich themselves by corrupt means. "It would certainly
create some fear psychology in corrupt officials, just like the RTI. After RTI, officials and ministers are
afraid of incorrect records and files," he said. Agarwal, however, added that a phone number easier to
remember should be launched soon, and a registration number should be given to complainants. Kejriwal
has already said that a four-digit number that could be committed to memory easier would be released in
about five days. I.S. Bakshi, principal of Delhi's Dyal Singh College, said the helpline could be a
"deterrent" to corruption, but for the practice to cease, people's mentality must change. "This helpline will
definitely prove to be a deterrent, but for it to function well, mindsets of the people need to change.
People should do their work without seeking favours. There is an illness in society that needs to be
curbed, and I believe this is the first step," Bakshi told IANS. The anti-corruption sentiment has been
running high in the national capital since Gandhian activist Anna Hazare launched his movement for
passing the anti-graft Lokpal bill in 2011. Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party's victory has been credited to this
anti-corruption sentiment. Many people in Delhi, young and old and working in a range of professions,
expressed happiness and hope at the launch of the helpline. "I think it is going to make some real
difference. I am sure any official will think twice before asking for a bribe," said Shreya Sharma, a student
of Delhi university. "I welcome the helpline launched by the chief minister and hope people make the most
out of it," said 42-year-old housewife, Rekha Joshi. Joshi however added that citizens were equally
responsible for the "bribe culture"."Citizens are equally responsible for this bribe culture... we look for an
easy way out, and hence indulge in bribing. I think this will help in breaking this vicious circle," Swapan
Bhattacharjee, 65, caretaker of a residential complex in Delhi's Dwarka area, said: "It might work out to
some extent, but those who have had their work done by bribing the other party will just continue doing
so. I hope that the team behind this helpline will attend to complaints, and bring about change"."However
optimistic and well-meaning the idea is, I don't think it is going to work. The idea of a sting operation is not
very viable. I don't think I would take the pain of doing a sting operation on anyone. Sting operations, as
we have seen before, aren't a very reliable tool for investigation," said Debojit Dutta, 26, student. "Instead
of opening a helpline and then helping people conduct sting operations, a redressal forum that would
investigate complaints and act upon them with transparency and efficiency might have been more
welcome," Dutta said. (Deccan Herald 9/1/14)
Activists dare Mukul (5)
Shillong, Jan. 9: Anti-graft activists today dared chief minister Mukul Sangma to make the Meghalaya
Lokayukta Act, 2013 stronger if he was serious about curbing corruption in the state. The activists are
working under the umbrella of the Campaign for an Independent Lokayukta in Meghalaya. The campaign
comprises groups like the Khasi Students Union (KSU), Federation of Khasi-Jaintia and Garo People
(FKJGP), Maitshaphrang Movement, Garo Students Union (GSU), Jaintia Youth Federation (JYF) and
Meghalaya Right to Information Movement (MRTIM), among others. On Tuesday, Sangma had said the
act could undergo more changes in view of the passage of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2013 in
Parliament last month. Among the non-negotiable demands put forward by the campaign, the act should
include an independent Lokayukta with an investigation and a prosecution wing attached to it. The
investigation and prosecution should not be a time-consuming affair. They should have a fixed target,
Michael N. Syiem of the MRTIM, said. At the same time, the groups want a search committee to be
appointed for the selection of the Lokayukta while demanding that the Lokayuktas term should be fixed
for five years without any scope for extension. The act states that the Lokayuktas term is for three years
with room for extension. Social activist Angela Rangad said there should not be too much emphasis on
only persons belonging to the judiciary and executive in the constitution of the Lokayukta and members.
While one of the three members ought to have a judicial background, there should also be emphasis on
having a person from civil society who has had experience of working on policy and campaign issues

centering on corruption, she said. Rangad said the procedure for the removal of the Lokayukta should be
made more stringent. The act states that the Lokayukta can be removed on grounds of misbehaviour or
incapacity only by a majority process of impeachment through a resolution passed by the majority of total
membership of the Assembly. This is a process which is too simple. It will undermine the independence
of the Lokayukta. And who will investigate the allegations of misbehaviour or incapacity before the
resolution is put to vote is not stated, she said. Further, the groups want the act to bring under its ambit
the traditional institutions of the syiem, doloi, nokma, headmen and official authorities appointed under the
institutions. Arguing that suo motu powers should be given to the anti-corruption ombudsman, Rangad
said the existing clause in the act on matters which have been referred to a commission of inquiry, should
be removed. The groups also demanded a public consultation on the amendments which are required to
be brought to the act. If the chief minister could hold a public consultation on the Meghalaya Regulation
of Landlords and Verification of Tenants bill, he may as well do the same for the purpose of seeking
public opinion on the changes required to be brought into the Meghalaya Lokayukta Act, 2013, Rangad
said. (The Telegraph 10/1/14)
Three Lt Cols booked for IMA job scam, face arrest (5)
DEHRADUN: Busting a major recruitment scam in the prestigious Indian Military Academy (IMA) here, the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked three serving lieutenant colonels, including two from the
IMA, on charges of forgery and conspiracy. The officers are accused of issuing fake experience
certificates to candidates and replacing their original answer sheets during group C and group D
recruitments held by the IMA in 2011-12. The CBI registered a case against the accused in Dehradun
earlier this week and a formal chargesheet is expected soon. Sources said the three officers and some
others may be arrested soon by CBI sleuths. The accused Lt. Col. Akhilesh Mishra, Lt. Col. Jagdish
Bishnoi (the then catering officer in IMA and member of the selection board for group 'C' category) and Lt.
Col. Ambarish Tewari (the then Admin Officer in the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) and
member of the selection board for group 'D' category) have been booked for conspiracy, forgery and
furnishing of fake documents. "Further investigations are on and some arrests are likely," a CBI source
said. According to CBI, the accused had issued forged documents to facilitate recruitment of 34
candidates and helped in replacing the original answer sheets of 16 others in order to help them clear the
written test. "The three had taken money for this work. The exact amount, however, is a matter of
investigation," the source added. The IMA had in the year 2011-12 recruited a total of 286 group C and
group D employees after a rigorous recruitment process. IMA spokesperson Prashant Tripathi, said
documents and experience certificates issued to a large number of IMA employees were found fake
during the authentication process of the academy. "The CBI came into the picture because of an
alarmingly large number of such cases this time," he said. The department of personnel and training
(DoPT) directed the Dehradun branch of CBI to take up the case a few months ago. "A preliminary inquiry
was registered following allegations that some officers of the IMA and RIMC had committed 'irregularities'
during the IMA recruitment process," a CBI officer told TOI. During the investigations that followed, CBI
gathered sufficient evidence to establish the alleged role of these three senior army men in the
recruitment scam. The agency filed two regular cases under various IPC sections for criminal conspiracy,
cheating and forgery and under the Prevention of Corruption Act, against the officers as well as
candidates selected on the basis of the fake documents. (Times of India 11/1/14)
Sting operation catches two constables accepting bribe (5)
NEW DELHI: In its first action against corrupt cops after being re-staffed recently, the Delhi government's
Anti-Corruption Bureau caught two constables accepting a bribe of Rs 3,000 from a vendor at the
Janakpuri police station on Saturday afternoon. The duo has been arrested on charges of extortion
following a sting operation by the vendor who is associated with an NGO that collects money for HIV
patients. "The rogue cops have been identified as Ishwar Singh and Sandeep Kumar. A probe has been

launched to confirm if the senior staff of the police station had been involved in any such activity," an
officer said. The vendor, who sells woollens in west Delhi, had registered a complaint with the Delhi
government's anti-corruption helpline. He told the officials that the police constables had been trying to
extort hafta from them for letting him carry out his business. He recorded the conversation and handed it
over to the anti-corruption department. The cops then laid a trap and arrested the two constables from
near a discom office in the area. The two constables had allegedly taken Rs 3,000 from the vendor last
month. They had come again and wanted him to cough up more money. The vendor is also associated
with an NGO. On Friday, a staff of an assistant registrar in the Co-operative Group Housing Societies at
Parliament Street was caught allegedly taking a bribe after a complaint to the helpline. The assistant
registrar, however, fled the spot. The Delhi government had started a four-digit, easy to remember
number-1031.There are 60 lines for this helpline and 30 supervisors to take calls. On Saturday, the
helpline got 11,952 calls till 6.30pm, a source said. "Around 20 cases were fit enough for laying trap."
(Times of India 13/1/14)
Coal Mining Scam: Enforcement Directorate likely to submit status report.. (5)
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is expected to file its reply before the Supreme Court
Wednesday in connection with the money laundering cases it has registered in the coal blocks allocation
scam. The apex court had in November last year asked the agency to file its response in this regard on a
plea seeking a direction to ED to probe and take action against the accused under the Prevention of
Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The court had fixed the next date of hearing as January 15. The agency,
according to sources, is expected to inform the court that it has registered nine cases under the said Act
and is in the process of going through all the CBI FIRs filed in the coal blocks allocation case. CBI has
filed 16 cases in the coal scam. The central agency is also understood to be looking at possible instances
of forex violation in the case. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the petitioners on whose
plea the apex court is monitoring the probe, had submitted that ED and CBI should act simultaneously
like they did in 2G scam and contended that the bench should monitor the ED probe also. ED can attach
assets and properties of the accused and their business concerns if its investigation shows that they
came from proceeds of crime. (Indian Express 14/1/14)
Nitish Kumar's anti-corruption drive: 576 corrupt officials to be axed (5)
Patna: Nitish Kumar led-Janata Dal (United) government in Bihar on Wednesday ordered dismissal of
corrupt officers from service even if they secure reprieve from a court. Corrupt officials in Bihar will not get
protection in the state and have to face punishment even if they secure reprieve from a court, as the state
government Wednesday ordered dismissal of corrupt officers from service within two months. The
government would dismiss more than 200 corrupt officers and employees on the charge of corruption
within the next two months, Sinha said in a statement here after a meeting chaired by Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar. "The chief minister has directed speedier action against corrupt officials and ordered
dismissal of all of them within two months after completing departmental proceedings and other
formalities," Chief Secretary AK Sinha told mediapersons. "The sword of suspension is hanging on the
heads of 576 corrupt officials," he told reporters after the meeting. Nitish Kumar held a video conference
with all the district magistrates and superintendents of police here to enquire about corruption cases
involving public servants and speedy trial in such cases. A vigilance officer would be appointed in every
department and in districts, a civil official and one police official would be authorised as vigilance officials
who would work under vigilance commissioner, he said. The CM said whistle blowers on corruption would
be rewarded and helpline service in every department should start within 15 days. The CM observed
during the meeting that while in other places corruption runs from top to lower level, in Bihar corruption is
prevailing at lower layer. Sinha said Nitish Kumar also ordered the setting up of a local unit on the lines of
the vigilance bureau or the economic offences unit to deal with corruption cases. "He has directed
strengthening of the vigilance bureau or economic offences unit on the lines of CBI (Central Bureau of

Investigation) to fight against corruption in the state," he said. "Nitish Kumar is hell bent on punishing
corrupt officials in a record time. It will help to restore the common man's faith in governance," an official
said (Zee News 16/1/14)
Top Dudhsagar Dairy officials in Rs 22cr scam (5)
Palanpur: Mehsana police have booked the chairman and directors of Dudhsagar Dairy in Mehsana in a
case of alleged financial irregularities worth Rs 22.5 crore. The case was registered at 'B' Division police
station in Mehsana on a complaint of registrar of co-operative societies in Patan D C Joshi, who is also in
charge of Mehsana. The dairy is chaired by Vipul Chaudhary, who recently ceased to be chairman of
Gujarat Cooperative Milk and Marketing Federation (GCMMF). The case has ruffled the feathers of many
in the dairy societies of north Gujarat that account for 70 per cent of such co-operatives in the state. The
police complaint states that the accused allegedly misused their position and supplied cattle feed valued
at Rs 22.50 crore to Maharashtra Rajya Sahakari Dudh Mahasangh Maryadit without the consent of
GCMMF and also the state government. "The audit of the dairy is underway and misappropriation of
funds is likely to be in crores. We filed a complaint as the dairy administration had failed to give a
convincing reply to the questions raised," Joshi said. Defending their position, Dudhsagar Dairy
authorities clarified that the cattle feed was supplied on an appeal of Union agriculture minister Sharad
Pawar and Mahanada Dairy (Maharashtra Rajya Sahakari Dudh Mahasangh Maryadit). (Times of India
26/1/14)
Delhi Cabinet likely to clear Jan Lokpal Bill today (5)
New Delhi: The Jan Lokpal Bill is likely to be approved by the Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday as its draft has
almost been finalised by a panel headed by Chief Secretary. According to an official, Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal today held a long discussion on the Bill in a meeting attended by lawyer and AAP leader
Prashant Bhushan, advocate Rahul Mehra, Cabinet ministers and senior government officials. "The
Cabinet meeting is likely to be held tomorrow (Tuesday) and the agenda is Jan Lokpal Bill," said the
official. A source said the government is taking all steps to meet its February first week's deadline to pass
the anti-corruption Bill in a special session of Delhi Assembly from Ramlila ground. On a query about
Delhi Police's reported objections on holding Assembly session in Ramlila ground citing law and order
issue, he said the government was taking one step at a time and would address the matter once it is
ready with the draft and approval from the Cabinet. The anti-corruption Bill is largely based on
Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill. However, it differs on some points, including the inclusion of chief minister in
its ambit, the official said. The meeting, which was chaired by Kejriwal to discuss the fine prints of the bill,
went on for around two hours. Soon after assuming the office on December 28, Kejriwal had said his
government would pass the promised Jan Lokpal Bill from Ramlila ground by the first week of February. A
committee headed by the Chief Secretary and secretaries of Urban Development, Law and Finance
departments, besides eminent advocate Rahul Mehra has been given the responsibility of drafting the
Jan Lokpal Bill. In its election manifesto for Delhi Assembly election, AAP had promised to cover all the
officials and employees of Delhi Government, from the Chief Minister to MLAs. Meanwhile, as the AAP
government completed its one month, Kejriwal held a review meeting of the ministers and sought reports
on the work carried out by them in the intervening period. (Zee News 28/1/14)
ACB probes extortion complaint against cop (5)
New Delhi: The Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi Government is investigating a case where a subinspector from Malviya Nagar police station allegedly tried to extort money from a businessman who had
lodged a complaint of cheating against his wife. When the complainant approached the SI, instead of
investigating the matter, he asked the complainant for Rs 4,000 to carry out an investigation. The officer
also asked the complainant to repair his hard disc, which would cost Rs 28,000, ACB officials said.
Further, the SI told the complainant that he would implicate him in a false case if the complainant refused

to repair the hard disc, officials said. The complainant, Jaspal Singh is a businessman who is also a share
consultant. He approached the ACB through the anti-corruption hotline last week. The complainant also
alleged that he had approached the ACB after the local police refused to take action. In his complaint,
Singh claimed that he married in February last year, but within a couple of months, his wife left him,
taking money and jewellery with her. Singh claimed that his wife, who he had met on a matrimonial
website, had married him only to cheat him later. Initially, Singh had gone to a local court which had
directed Malviya Nagar police station to conduct an enquiry. Subsequently, the sub-inspector was
assigned to investigate the case. When I approached him, he asked me for Rs 4,000. Later, he took me
to the police station, where he asked me to get his hard disc repaired. He told me that it would cost Rs
28,000 and that if I didnt get it repaired, he would falsely implicate me Singh told Newsline. I
approached an officer. He called the investigating officer to his room and asked him what he had done.
The IO kept quiet. I managed to record 10 minutes of their conversation on my mobile phone, Singh said.
However, Singh said no action was taken even then. Singh then called the anti-corruption hotline and was
directed to the ACB, where he lodged an FIR. The hard disc has been seized by the unit and sent to the
FSL for examination. A case under Sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered
against the sub-inspector. Investigation is underway, officials said. (Indian Express 29/1/14)
India a religious country, but too much corruption: Dalai Lama (5)
SHILLONG: India is considered a religious country, but a lot of corruption is taking place in this country,
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama rued on Monday. "This country (India) is considered a religious
country, but a lot of corruption is taking place. There are many corrupt people, and I think, the corrupt
people are also highly educated," the Tibetan spiritual leader said while addressing the sixth convocation
ceremony of the Martin Christian Luther University here. "They (some educated people) pray to God but
the purpose of their prayer is to make their corrupt life more successful," he added amidst thunderous
applause from the audience at the Soso Tham auditorium. Meghalaya governor K K Paul, chief minister
Mukul Sangma and a host of his cabinet colleagues and bureaucrats were also present. The Dalai Lama,
on his maiden visit to this mountainous state capital of Meghalaya, was awarded an honorary doctorate
by the private varsity. He said religious harmony and "ahimsa" are relevant in today's world as religion
has become an "instrument to cheat people"."In western countries, secularism means being negative
towards religion while in India it means respect of all religions, and India can promote religious harmony
and 'ahimsa'," he said. Lamenting that modern education has contributed to the degradation of human
values and given rise to corruption, the Nobel Peace laureate said ancient Indian knowledge must find
place in the modern Indian education system. "Modern India is multi-cultural, multi-linguistic and multiracial. It is like the United Nations. I feel the greatness of India. Its people are harmless, and it is an
example to the rest of the world as people are living together happily," the Buddhist spiritual leader said.
Asking China to learn from India on how to live together, the Dalai Lama said: "I use to tell my Chinese
friends that they should learn from India. Some Chinese hardliners see Tibet as a source of danger. But
we are not seeking separation from China." "Tibet must remain with China for economic development but
the Chinese government must respect Tibet's unique language, script, culture, and ecology. These must
be preserved," he said. (Times of India 3/2/14)
CM Arvind Kejriwal's cabinet clears Jan Lokpal Bill (5)
New Delhi: After slashing power and water bills, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) inched closer
to delivering on yet another election promise on Monday when the Delhi government cleared the draft of
the much-talked-about Jan Lokpal Bill. The bill provides for covering all public servants from the chief
minister to Group D employees and seeks life term as maximum punishment for those found guilty of
corruption. It provides for a legal right of protection to "honest" officials, whistleblowers and witnesses
besides having provisions for time-bound investigation and trial of corruption cases. Soon after assuming
office in December last year, chief minister Kejriwal had said his government would pass the Jan Lokpal

Bill by the first week of February. The draft bill was cleared at a cabinet meeting presided over by
Kejriwal. Bringing the Jan Lokpal Bill to contain corruption was a key election promise made to voters by
the AAP. PWD minister Manish Sisodia said no provision for any "special privileges" for even the chief
minister and council of ministers had been proposed in the bill when it comes to cracking down on
corruption. He said government would not send the bill to the home ministry for approval. Sources said
the law department had mentioned in its noting that the Delhi government had to get clearance from the
home ministry before tabling any bill. "This is one of the most widely debated bills in India's parliamentary
history over the last few decades and Delhi government is of the view that it has come up with an
effective bill to restore the public confidence in its elected representatives and other public servants,"
Sisodia told reporters after the cabinet meeting. He added the bill approved by the Delhi cabinet provided
for "certainty and swiftness" of punishment to those found involved in graft. The minister also said
selection panel for appointment of Lokpal chairperson and members would be "transparent" and free of
political control. The seven-member panel will have the chief minister as the government nominee. "The
only law which comes closest to this bill is the bill passed by the Uttarakhand assembly in 2011, but it too
had some limitations in filing complaints against the CM and ministers. This bill for the first time provides a
legal right of protection for the whistleblowers and witnesses in corruption cases," Sisodia said (Hindustan
Times 4/2/14)
CBI Files Chargesheet in 7 Cases of Lottery Scam in Kerala (5)
KOCHI: The CBI on Monday filed a chargesheet in seven cases of lottery scam involving Santiago Martin
before the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate. In the chargesheet, the CBI stated that a dubious deal
between officials of the Sikkim Lottery Department and the accused caused loss of over Rs4,500 crore to
the Sikkim Government and there were no loss caused to the exchequer of Kerala Government. As per
the chargesheet, the accused in the case are Santiago Martin, 51, managing director of Future Gaming
Solutions, Chennai; John Britto, 49, director of Future Gaming Solutions, Coimbatore; Future Gaming
Solutions, John Kennedy, proprietor, Megha Distributors, Palakkad; N Jayamurughan, 45, partner in M J
Associates, Madurai; A Shakthivel, 47, partner in Mahalakshmi Offset Printers, Sivakasi; and V Selvaraj,
65, of Chennai. They were charged under 120B IPC, 420 IPC, Section 4(d) and 4(f) of the Lottery
Regulation Act r/w Section 3(5) 3(6) of the Lottery Regulation Act. Of the seven cases, six were
investigated by the CBI Kochi unit and one by the Thiruvananthapuram unit. Around 26 persons, who
were lottery vendors, were given a clean chit. In all these cases, the CBI investigated illegal profits made
through the sale of lotteries of the Sikkim Government in Kerala. The CBI is yet to file chargesheet in one
case involving the of Bhutan lotteries. As per the charge sheet, the accused hatched a criminal
conspiracy with officials of Sikkim Lottery. Lottery tickets worth Rs4,752 crore were sold in Kerala during
2008-2010 period, only Rs142.93 crore was paid to the Sikkim Government. Thus, the Sikkim
Government incurred a loss of over Rs 4,500 crore. (New Indian Express 4/2/14)
After Delhi govts order, ACB files FIR in Rs 90-crore CWG street light scam (5)
New Delhi: The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of Delhi on Thursday filed fresh FIR in the Rs 90-crore
street-lightning project for the 2010 Commonwealth Games that were implemented during Sheila Dikshits
reign. The move comes on a day when the AAP government, headed by Arvind Kejriwal, directed the
anti-corruption branch to lodge an FIR in CWG related projects which a panel headed by a former CAG
had indicted the then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. The government had particularly asked ACB to probe
the alleged irregularities in street light projects in which the Prime Minister-appointed Shunglu Committee
had questioned certain decisions made by Dikshit. After a Cabinet meeting, senior Minister Manish
Sisodia said the ACB has been told to conduct a thorough probe into the scam as there have been
strong findings in it by CAG and Shunglu Committee. The ACB has been directed to conduct an
independent and thorough investigation and take action. ACB will file FIR in the case. Our motive is not to
target a particular person, Sisodia said. Registration of an FIR is the first step in the filing of formal

charges. Thursdays move was bound to needle its ally Congress. Law Minister Somnath Bharti said a
number of Commonwealth Games related projects that were implemented during the reign of Dikshit will
be probed by the ACB which functions under the Delhi Government. This is the second move against
Dikshit by Kejriwal government this week. On Monday, it had recommended to President Pranab
Mukherjee to issue an advisory to Dikshit based on a Lokayukta order for alleged wrongdoings in grant
of provisional regularisation certificates to unauthorised colonies in 2008. The Lokayukta had
recommended issuance of advisory to caution her against repeating such wrongdoings. Sisodia said
investigation into the street lighting scam was closed at the level of preliminary inquiry though there were
strong findings in the case by CAG and Shunglu Committee. The Shunglu Committee and CAG in their
reports had mentioned about flouting of laid down rules at the instance of Dikshit in awarding of contract
to certain firms for procurement of street lights. Dikshit had vehemently rejected findings of the reports. It
was strongly mentioned in the reports that many ineligible companies were made eligible through back
doors and contracts were given to them. The then government had wasted Rs 31 crore, alleged Sisodia.
After taking over, Kejriwal had announced that his government will investigate all corruption cases,
particularly the CWG scam. (Indian Express 7/2/14)
Corruption major stumbling block in progress, President says (5)
NEW DELHI: Terming corruption as a "major stumbling block" in the country's progress, President Pranab
Mukherjee on Tuesday asked CVC to lead the way in cleansing the government. The President said while
there has been no let up in the fight against corruption, it has to be acknowledged that only a limited
success has been achieved in this regard. "Corruption remains a major stumbling block in the progress of
our nation," he said inaugurating a seminar organised on the occasion of golden jubilee celebrations of
Central Vigilance Commission. Mukherjee said corruption has increased transaction costs, reduced
efficiency of public services, distorted decision making processes and undermined the moral fibre of the
society. "Corruption has reinforced inequities and limited access to public services by the common man,
especially the poor," he said. Asking the CVC to lead the way in cleansing the government and contribute
to reversing the cynicism of public towards government functionaries, the President said he was confident
the CVC will continue to function as a strong and an effective body, making useful contribution to
enhancing probity in governance and checking corruption as well as mal-administration. Referring to the
civil society's "huge public outcry" over corruption in recent times, Mukherjee said, "The air is thick with
despair and cynicism. There is an urgent need to restore the faith of our people in our governance system
and the credibility of our institutions". (Times of India 11/2/14)
Arvind Kejriwal's Jan Lokpal Bill can be rejected by Lieutenant Governor.. (5)
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's anti-corruption Jan Lokpal Bill confronts a new legal
hurdle before it can be presented to the Delhi legislature for enactment. Sources have told NDTV that the
Law Ministry believes the Lieutenant Governor is within his rights to reject or approve the bill as it has
financial implications and will be partly funded by the Centre. Mr Kejriwal is adamant about presenting the
bill on Sunday in a special open session at a city stadium, where he has invited the public. He has
rejected the centre's opinion that the bill must be vetted by the home ministry first as Parliament has
already enacted a Lokpal law. Sources say the Law Ministry is of the opinion that Lieutenant Governor
Najeeb Jung can withhold his assent, even if the bill is passed in the assembly, on grounds that it is
"unconstitutional" and overlaps the central law. This legal opinion adds another layer to the political battle
over the Jan Lokpal Bill, which was at the heart of Mr Kejriwal's campaign for the Delhi election. The bill
creates an ombudsman or "Lokpal" empowered to investigate allegations of corruption among
government officers and prescribes a maximum punishment of life term. Ahead of the national election,
due by May, no party wants to be seen as opposing an anti-corruption measure, even though the Jan
Lokpal Bill has been described by its critics as an overreach. Mr Kejriwal is believed to have conceded a
major change to the bill to make it more acceptable to the BJP. (read) Sources say that the Chief Minister

has amended the bill so that the ombudsman will not decide the punishment for a convicted office; a court
will decide the penalty. The Congress, which provides external support to the Aam Aadmi Party
government and does not want to be seen as the villain of the piece, may wait for the Lieutenant
Governor to use his veto, say sources. (NDTV 12/2/14)
Railways lost Rs 4,300 crore in iron ore export scam (5)
NEW DELHI: Railways suffered revenue loss of around Rs 4,300 crore in 2008-2012 because of its
failure to ensure proper documentation under the dual pricing system for transportation of iron ore, a CAG
report tabled in Parliament said. The federal auditor reported revenue loss of Rs 2,487 crore in its 25th
report (2013) while it had reported a revenue loss of Rs 1,796 crore for railways in its 2011-12 report. The
auditor, which hinted at misuse of dual pricing system, contended that about Rs 15,540 crore was to be
recovered as penalty and recovery from several iron export companies. Under the dual pricing introduced
from May 2008, the cost of transportation of iron ore for export was on an average more than three times
the cost of the transportation for domestic use. Railways had prescribed mandatory submission of certain
documents to avail domestic rate. But CAG found that "the internal control system of the railways failed
as it allowed the concerned parties to avail the domestic rate without submitting some the essential
prescribed documents".CAG said South Eastern Railways acknowledged a freight evasion of Rs 1,876
crore. The report suggests that railways allowed 358 parties to avail domestic rate for transportation of
iron ore despite non-submission/partial submission of the prescribed documents which resulted in
revenue loss to the cash-strapped transporter. CAG observed a number of deficiencies like booking of
iron ore at domestic rate without obtaining any of the prescribed documents. While 153 parties did not
submit any prescribed documents to avail domestic rate for carrying iron ore, 205 parties submitted some
of the documents required for the concessional rate. Railways allowed 153 parties to avail the domestic
rate without submitting any of the prescribed documents before booking and delivery of 699 rakes
carrying iron ore during May 22, 2008 to March 31, 2012 which resulted in revenue loss of Rs 258.38
crore. The auditor has found that 205 parties availed the domestic rate without submitting some of the
essential documents like the monthly excise returns, industrial entrepreneur certificate, affidavit,
indemnity bonds. According to the report, 205 parties availed booking and delivery of 6,306 rakes
carrying iron ore during May 2008 to March 2012. Railways permitted these parties to avail of the
domestic rate despite non-submission of some of the essential prescribed documents resulting revenue
loss of Rs 2,228.30 crore. CAG observed that the quantity of iron ore transported by rail for export
declined by 44% during the period 2008-09 to 2011-12. Thus, prudency demanded that adequate
safeguards in the form of procedures and checks be put in place against misuse of the dual pricing in iron
ore traffic, it said. (Times of India 12/2/14)
Prashant alleges Rs. 920-crore scam in SAIL project (5)
New Delhi: In a letter written to the Union Steel Minister and the Prime Minister, senior advocate and AAP
leader Prashant Bhushan has alleged a Rs. 920-crore scam in the bidding of the Steel Authority of Indias
crushing, beneficiation & pellet plant at Gua Ore Mines. Mr. Bhushan, in his letter, which The Hindu
accessed, has alleged that the project through the SAIL office in Kolkata was finalised in violation of the
laws with a cartel of private companies gaining undue advantage. Consequently, the lawyer has alleged,
the project cost was illegitimately inflated from the original budget of around Rs.1,820 crore to above
Rs.2,850 crore by falsifying the figures. Mr. Bhushan has accused Larsen & Toubro and McNally Bharat
of forming a cartel with others and colluding with SAIL officials, other individuals and consultants to fix the
bidding process. The decision on the bid was to be taken on February 14. SAIL responded to queries by
The Hindu to say, The issue has already been examined extensively at various levels, both within and
outside SAIL. We will take further action strictly according to laid- down legal, commercial and technical
procedures. An L&T representative, when shown Mr. Bhushans letter, said, We have not been informed
of any such developments. L&T has a long-standing record of ethical business conduct. Mc Nally Bharat

representatives and offices did not respond to questions. Mr. Bhushan has also alleged that Sanjay
Kumar Pasari had acted as a middleman. Mr. Parsaris name has arisen earlier, too, in controversial
deals relating to the Steel Ministry, and he has been put on the list of undesirable contact men by the
CBI, Mr. Bhushan said. Mr. Pasari could not be reached for comment. Calling this specific case as the tip
of the iceberg in a larger scam in SAIL, Mr. Bhushan recorded that others raised the issue with different
authorities before but there was no action. (The Hindu 14/2/14)
His Delhi report card is too wretched for Kejriwal to win over India (5)
One thing that's indisputable about Arvind Kejriwal is that he's a high-stakes player. Late night last Friday
he placed his most dramatic bet yet, that his resignation as Delhi's CM will make him a martyr in the anticorruption cause, springboarding AAP to as dramatic a debut in Lok Sabha as it made in December's
assembly elections. But back then voters judged AAP by its pretty promises. Now 49 turbulent days of a
dharna approach to governance weigh heavy on its report card. There is evidence that corruption did
decrease in some sectors, such as Delhi's hospitals. It's also true that AAP raises funds more
transparently than other political parties. But its actions have been censured for racism, vigilantism and
anarchy. On more days than not, Kejriwal seemed more of a chief agitator than chief minister. He speaks
of sacrificing his life for India, sees the Centre as colonial rulers, the Lieutenant Governor as Viceroy. This
is a fundamental misunderstanding of modern India's reality and requirements. Corporates will be the big,
bad bogeymen of his Lok Sabha campaign. But this too is so yesterday. Scapegoating is as ancient as
witch-burning. Indira Gandhi contested elections way back in the 1970s in just such a way, by dubbing
her opponents as agents of industrial houses. Since then Indians have taken a long journey to
liberalisation, reforms and growth. Modern India needs solutions more than scapegoats. Voters are of
course sick of corruption. But AAP has spoken so far only of a big stick to beat up corruption with. It
hasn't addressed any of the systemic roots of corruption, not to mention other areas of governance it
needs to tackle. In Delhi it shut the door on FDI in multi-brand retail. That does no good to the aam admi
who aspires to a modern retail job, the aam farmer who seeks higher prices for his produce, or the aam
customer who wants greater choice and lower prices. On Jan Lokpal Bill AAP dismissed all interpretations
of the Constitution except its own as lies. It claims to have done more for Delhi in 49 days than Congress
and BJP did over two decades. But given that great growth in prosperity and infrastructure during this
period is visible to the naked eye, such hubris has limited attraction. Even a majority government must
collaborate with many stakeholders. Its penchant for permanent revolution means the Kejriwal theatre
won't play to packed houses across India. (Times of India 17/2/14)
Goa Congress allege scam in cyberstudent scheme (5)
PANAJI: Alleging a major scam in the cyberstudent scheme, the Congress in Goa on Monday alleged
that Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, Goa InfoTech corporation chairman Subhash Phaldesai and
others hatched a criminal conspiracy to loot the state exchequer to the tune of over Rs 12-crore. Sunil
Kawthankar, secretary of the Goa Pradesh Congress committee also filed a complaint against Parrikar,
Phaldesai and others with the crime branch of Goa police. Kawthankar also warned crime branch that if
they do not register an FIR against Parrikar within three days, he would approach the appropriate courts.
The BJP government launched the Goa cyberstudent scheme on December 13, 2013. Over 47,000
students of classes VI and VII of all government recognized schools in Goa will be provided free e-tablets
under the scheme. Kawthankar said that Parrikar and others violated various rules including guidelines of
the central vigilance commission, the general finance rules of the central government and even conditions
of the tender documents. The "fraud" was committed to benefit the "son-in-law of a top BJP financier" said
Kawthankar, but declined to name the financier. InfoTech corporation chairman Subhash Phaldesai has
denied the allegations and even challenged the opposition for any kind of inquiry.
(Times of India 17/2/14)

Cong MLAs stage walkout over sal seeds scam (5)

RAIPUR: Opposition Congress staged a walkout from Chhattisgarh Assembly on Monday, demanding
that report of the probe committee on sal seeds scam be tabled in house. Raising the issue during
question hour, Satyanarayan Sharma (Congress) sought to know when was probe committee constituted
to probe the scam that was unearthed in 2009 and names of officials in the committee. He also sought to
know names of officials indicted in the alleged scam. Chief minister Raman Singh, in his reply, said a
probe was ordered in December 2010 following complaints of irregularities in procurement of sal seeds in
2009. He said the investigating officer, then chief conservator of forest (Conservation) BK Sinha,
submitted his report on February 23, 2011. Later, a one-member committee headed by commerce and
industries secretary Dinesh Shrivastava was formed to verify the recommendations in Sinha's report, he
said. The then divisional forest officer (DFO), East Surguja Forest Division CL Agrawal, then DFO East
Surguja VS Dhruv, then DFO Jashpur Nagar SP Rajak, then sub-divisional officer Ramanujganj forest
division Laurence Ekka, then deputy SDO Jashpur Nagar DP Pandey, then SDO Jashpur Nagar RK
Malhotra, then ranger Jashpur Nagar RK Sisodiya, then forest ranger Tapkara Ishwar Kujur, then ranger
Ramanujganj SN Mishra and then ranger Jashpur GS Thakur were indicted in the report, he said. As
Sharma sought to know as to what action was taken against officers concerned, Singh replied that showcause notices were issued to DFOs and lower-level officers. Sharma alleged that state government was
not serious about such a big scam involving senior officials, who had purchased sal seeds at a cheap rate
and sold them here at higher rates.As chief minister did not respond to his demand, opposition members
staged a walkout. (Times of India 18/2/14)
Whistleblowers Protection Bill passed (5)
NEW DELHI: A Bill to set up a regular mechanism to encourage persons to disclose information on
corruption or wilful misuse of power by public servants, including Ministers, was passed by the Rajya
Sabha on Friday. The Whistleblowers Protection Bill also seeks to provide for adequate protection to
persons reporting corruption or wilful misuse of discretion which causes a demonstrable loss to the
government, or commission of a criminal offence by a public servant. The Bill sets forth the procedure for
inquiring into the disclosures and provides for safeguards against victimisation. At the same time, it
provides punishment for false or frivolous complaints. In his reply, Minister of State for Personnel V.
Narayanasamy said the law would supplement the RTI Act in checking corruption. He said some
members sought to bring amendments. However, since it was the last day of the session, he was not
pushing them as the Bill would lapse. But appropriate steps will be taken to address their concerns
through constitutional methods in 10 days. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in 2011 and was taken
up by the Rajya Sabha in 2012. However, it could not be passed because of the death of Union Minister
Vilasrao Deshmukh. Responding to a suggestion that steps be taken to protect those who had blown the
whistle on corruption prior to the passage of the Bill, Mr. Narayanasamy said the government had already
brought a resolution in 2004, empowering the Central Vigilance Commission to protect the
whistleblowers. The definition of disclosure has also been amended to include wilful misuse of power or
discretion, which leads to a demonstrable loss to the government or a demonstrable gain to a public
servant or any third party. The definition of competent authority to which a complaint can be made has
also been expanded.Mr. Narayanasamy said the Centre would write to the Jammu and Kashmir
government for enactment of a similar law, after Karan Singh of the Congress made the suggestion. The
Bill does not cover the State due the special status enjoyed by it. (The Hindu 23/2/14)
Govt set to bring Ordinances on Rahul-backed anti-graft Bills (5)
New Delhi: The UPA government appears all set to take the Ordinance route on five Bills, which
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been pushing for. The Bills were supposed to be taken up in
the last session of the 15th Lok Sabha, but the same could not happen due to disruptions over various
issues, including the Telangana Bill. Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor

has even said that non-passage of these Bills was a setback to the nation. With Lok Sabha polls around
the corner, the Congress believes these Bills may help revive its dwindling fortunes to an extent. Experts
say the Congress will try to hardsell these anti-corruption laws along with the Lokpal Bill and RTI to revive
its Lok Sabha poll campaign and even counter the corruption charge against the UPA government. Rahul
has already targeted the BJP over non-passage of these Bills, accusing it of creating hurdles and being
non serious on the issue of fighting corruption. Among the Bills on which the government may bring
ordinance include the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, the Right of Citizens for Time Bound
Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, the Prevention of Bribery of
Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill, the Prevention of
Corruption (Amendment) Bill and the Public Procurement Bill, 2012. The Parliament, however, did
manage to pass the Whistleblower Bill, which was also being pushed by Rahul Gandhi. (Zee News
25/2/14)
Rights body to file fresh PIL in bogus VAT refund scam (5)
Ludhiana: The Human Rights Protection Council has announced that it will file a fresh PIL in the High
Court, seeking a CBI probe into the multi-crore VAT refund scam. Dr K O S Narula, chairman of the
council, said, Though a PIL was filed earlier as well, no significant outcome has been seen in this case
as the case is now being probed by the excise department and the vigilance department. We will be
seeking a CBI probe so that the real culprits can be revealed. He said that a total of 32 companies of
Ludhiana and Mandi Gobindgarh were found to be involved in this scam. Though in the earlier
complaints, a few officers were transferred and even FIRs were lodged against a few companies, tax
recovery was to the bare minimum. The council members stated that they would be presenting the facts
and figures before the High Court so that the money involved in the scam could be unearthed.(Indian
Express 26/2/14)

Corruption widespread in India, US report says (5)

WASHINGTON: There is widespread corruption in India in all levels of the government including judiciary,
said a US Congress-mandated report. "Corruption was widespread," said the annual Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices for 2013 released on Thursday by US secretary of state John Kerry. According to
the report, though the law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, the Indian government did not
implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
"Corruption was present at all levels of government. The CBI registered 583 cases of corruption between
the months of January and November. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) received 7,224 cases in
2012. Of those, 5,528 were received in 2012 and an additional 1,696 remained from 2011. The
commission recommended action on 5,720 cases," the report said. "The CVC operated a toll-free hotline
to lodge complaints and a web portal to share information. NGOs noted that bribes typically were paid to
expedite services, such as police protection, school admission, water supply, or government assistance,"
it said. Civil society organizations drew public attention to corruption throughout the year, including
through public demonstrations and websites that featured individual stories of corruption, it added. The
government designated chief vigilance officers to address public complaints and grievances in the
banking, insurance, and other sectors serviced by private, public, and corporate bodies. Parliament
passed a bill in December establishing an ombudsman organization known as a Lokpal to investigate
allegations of government corruption. The state department said many government-run programs to
alleviate poverty and provide employment suffered from poor implementation and corruption. For
example, after obtaining government documents under the RTI Act, a petitioner alleged misappropriation
of funds in the Maharashtra Tribal Development Department. On June 13, the Bombay high court ordered
that a special team be formed to investigate an alleged fraud in which money meant for tribal welfare was
used for other purposes, it said. A case against several suspects, including Tiruvannamalai municipality

councillor K V N Venkatesan connected to the July 2012 killing of social activist Rajamohan Chandra,
who had filed public-interest litigation cases against government officials, politicians, and realtors
suspected of corruption and land grabbing awaited trial at year's end. In December last, a commission
probing the role of state chief ministers and other officials in the 2012 Adarsh housing scam involving
improper allocations of apartments reserved for veterans and war widows submitted its report to the
Maharashtra legislative assembly, but the Maharashtra state government rejected the report. The trial of
former telecommunications minister A Raja and MK Kanimozhi, a member of the upper house of
parliament, accused of taking bribes in the rigged sale of the 2G mobile telephone spectrum in 2008, did
not conclude by year's end, the state department said. On August 7, Justice RA Mehta refused to become
the Gujarat Lokayukta, the state anticorruption ombudsman authority, even after the Supreme Court
upheld his appointment, and remarked that the state government would not support his investigations.
The Gujarat government sought to amend the Gujarat Lokayukta Act in April, to curtail the primacy of the
governor and chief justice of the high court in the ombudsman's appointment and subject the appointing
powers only to the chief minister's decision. The governor refused to sign the bill. The state department
said the law provides for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence, although " judicial corruption" was widespread. "The judicial system remained seriously
overburdened and lacked modern case management systems, often delaying or denying justice. In
August, Law Minister Kapil Sibal stated that there were three vacancies on the Supreme Court and 275
vacancies on the high courts," it said. "Vacancies in the subordinate judiciary were also alarming, with
more than 3,700 positions to be filled in the states. The law minister attributed lengthening delays of
cases in courts to the vacancies," the report said. (Times of India 1/3/14)
VACB detects corruption in Consumerfed rice purchase in Kerala (5)
Thiruvananthapuram: Forensic auditors working for the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB)
have reported to the government that at least five favoured grain wholesalers in the State had hugely
profited from Consumerfeds decision to procure rice at higher than market rates during 2012-13. The
controversial decision, taken at a time when there was reportedly adequate rice production in the country,
reportedly caused the State exchequer an estimated loss of Rs.1.6 crore in Kollam district alone. The
auditing of Consumerfeds operations during the period in other districts was under way, VACB enforcers
said. The VACB identified the main beneficiaries of the alleged rip-off as Andhra Pradesh Rice
Corporation, Changanassery; Babu Stores, Nallila, and Venkateshwara Traders, Mathilil, both in Kollam;
Balaji Corporation, Kochi; and Sree Krishna Traders, Mulankadakom. The VACB was investigating the
traders on the charges of cheating and corruption. It had also named the members of the Central
Purchase Committee of Consumerfed, the apex body of consumer cooperative societies in Kerala, chiefly
its then managing director Reji G. Nair, and chief purchase manager R. Jayakumar, as the main accused
in the graft case (VC 4/13/SRT), sources said. The crux of the VACBs case was that the accused had
betrayed Consumerfeds stated aim of making provisions, chiefly rice, pulses, and edible oil, available at
the lowest rate possible to citizens and thereby caused undue financial advantage to the traders and
consequent loss to the government. The auditors had chiefly examined Consumerfeds purchase of three
popular varieties of rice; Jaya, Matta and raw rice. They found that the Kerala State Civil Supplies
Corporation (Supplyco) had purchased the same varieties of rice from comparable wholesalers during the
same period at a far lesser rates than Consumerfed. Last financial year, Consumerfed had reported
accumulated loss of Rs.128.63 crore. Nevertheless, the institution, which operated on government grants
and loans, had made indiscriminate voucher payments to its staff on unverified expense claims. It had
appointed persons with dubious qualification and little or no work experience in newly created, namesake,
managerial posts of scarce consequence to the organisations operations. The VACB said it found
provisions left unattended and spoiling at Consumerfed warehouses in the State after secondary
societies rejected the rations on the ground that they were highly priced or of inferior quality. (The Hindu
3/3/14)

Another scam hits defence ministry, Antony orders CBI probe (5)
NEW DELHI: The country's defence establishment has been hit by what seems to be another major
scandal, forcing the government to order a CBI probe into allegations that global engine manufacturer
Rolls-Royce committed irregularities and violated contractual provisions to bag contracts worth over Rs
10,000 crore from 2007 to 2011. The CBI probe, which was confirmed by defence ministry officials on
Sunday, comes soon after alleged Indian-origin arms dealer Sudhir Choudhrie, who has for long been
under the scanner of CBI and Enforcement Directorate, and his son Bhanu were arrested in London last
month. Though the father and son were released almost immediately, and strongly denied any
wrongdoing, the British Serious Fraud Office is probing allegations that they acted as intermediaries of
Rolls-Royce for deals in China and Indonesia. Sources said defence minister A K Antony ordered the CBI
probe after allegations about Rolls-Royce hiring "advisors/consultants" middlemen are banned under
the Indian defence procurement system surfaced in a letter sent to defence PSU Hindustan
Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) recently. (Times of India 4/3/14)
Setback for Centre as Justice Thomas opts out of lokpal search panel (5)
New Delhi: In a major embarrassment to the Congress government at the Centre, Justice KT Thomas has
quit as the head of the Lokpal Committee Search Panel, reports said on Monday. According to reports,
Justice Thomas, who was the head of the panel to search nine members of the Lokpal or national anticorruption ombudsman, has sent his resignation letter to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) expressing his
inability to continue with his job. Justice Thomas' withdrawal from the Lokpal Committee Search Panel
comes nearly a week after noted jurist Fali Nariman refused the government's invite to be a part of the
committee. Nariman said that he believes the selection process is flawed and unlikely to find the most
deserving candidates. Justice Thomas, who retired from the Supreme Court in 2002, was chosen to head
the committee by a panel that included the Prime Minister and Sushma Swaraj, the Leader of the
Opposition in the Lok Sabha. "I have decided to withdraw from the search committee after I studied the
rules. The selection committee itself can find out the persons from the list of central government, what the
search committee is expected to do and forward the list to the government," Thomas said in his letter to
PMO. Earlier, the BJP had objected to one of the Prime Ministers nominees for the panel - PP Rao accusing him of being pro-UPA 2. Of the advertised posts for members in the Lokpal, four are for judicial
and the remaining for non-judicial. The PM-led selection committee has as members Lok Sabha Speaker,
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Chief Justice of India or a judge of the apex court nominated by him
and an eminent jurist, who could be nominated by the President or any of the members. The chairperson
and members shall be appointed by the President after obtaining the recommendations of the selection
committee. The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, provides for the establishment of a Lokpal for the
Union and Lokayuktas for the states to inquire into allegations of corruption against public functionaries.
(Zee News 5/3/14)
NGO Challenges Lokpal Selection Process in SC (5)
NEW DELHI: An NGO on Wednesday filed a petition in the Supreme Court questioning the entire
selection process for appointment of chairperson and members of the Lokpal and sought its stay. The
NGO Common Cause had filed the plea through advocate Prashant Bhushan and sought to declare
illegal the Search Committee (Constitution, Terms and Conditions of appointment of members and the
manner of selection of Panel of names for appointment of Chairperson and Members of Lokpal) Rules,
2014, framed under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2014. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) sought a
declaration that certain provisions of the rules are ultra vires of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act and also
sought quashing of the entire selection process initiated under the rules alleging that it is illegal, arbitrary
and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. It said the government is going ahead with the selection
process despite serious flaws in the rules under which selections are being made. Justice K T Thomas

and Fali Nariman, who were offered the post of the chairman and member of the Search Committee,
respectively, have already declined to accept the offers on these very grounds, the petition said. It also
said Rule 10 (1) provides that the Search Committee shall prepare a panel of persons to be considered
by the Selection Committee for appointment of chairperson and members of the Lokpal, from among the
list of persons provided by the Central Government, directly runs counter to the very object of having an
independent Lokpal and the provisions of the said Act. (New Indian Express 6/3/14)
Panel pulls up Delhi Police for corruption (5)
New Delhi: In its report, a parliamentary panel has pulled up the Delhi Police for prevalence of corruption
among its ranks. Corruption in government departments, especially in the police force, impacts public at
large, it said. The panel has also suggested that CCTV cameras should be installed at all traffic signals to
prevent traffic policemen from taking bribes. There will be a constant monitoring of not just traffic
movement, but also whether the police personnel are discharging their duties honestly. The Delhi
Polices zero-tolerance policy to corruption flies in its own face when people observe traffic police officials
accepting money at red lights from bus drivers and commuters for violation of traffic rules. It is said that
transporters, particularly bus operators, have to pay them a monthly fee at various points on their route of
operations, the committee said in the report. Another important suggestion was formation of flying
squads that would conduct raids and organise traps. The committee has also directed the Delhi Police to
take corrective measures to change its image of paying money for lucrative postings. In its reply to the
panel, the Delhi Police had claimed that all complaints of corruption are immediately looked into and strict
action is taken if the allegations are substantiated. As regards the appointments to various posts within
the Delhi Police, transfers and postings are decided by the Delhi Police Establishment Board and not by
any individual. The Delhi Police maintains total transparency in this regard, the force had said in its reply.
Police also said that its vigilance branch conducts enquiries into complaints of non-registration of cases,
corruption and other malpractices against police officials. The department, it said, also maintains a list of
personnel of doubtful integrity. (Hindustan Times 10/3/14)
CBI to submit status report on coal scam in Supreme Court today? (5)
NEW DELHI: The CBI is likely to submit a status report on Monday informing Supreme Court about the
progress made in the coal scam probe and on filing chargesheets in cases registered by the agency in
2012. Sources said that along with the status report, CBI may file a few chargesheets as well on Monday
before the designated court naming private companies. The Supreme Court had asked CBI, during the
last hearing on February 11, to submit a status report about filing of chargesheet in six of the cases
finalized by the agency. CBI has filed over 16 FIRs which include those against AMR Iron and Steel, JLD
Yavatmal Energy, Vini Iron and Steel Udyog, JAS Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd, Grace Industries, Jindal
Steel and Power, Rathi Steel and Power Ltd, Jharkhand Ispat, Green Infrastructure, Kamal Sponge,
Pushp Steel, Hindalco, BLA Industries, Castron Technologies and Castron Mining and Nav Bharat Power
Private Limited. These FIRs were registered after the agency probed three preliminary enquiries related
to coal block allocation between 2006 and 2009, 1993 and 2004 and projects given under a government
scheme. CBI may also inform the apex court about the permission sought from nine states which were
reluctant in allowing the agency to conduct probe in their jurisdiction. CBI had been directed to file
chargesheet in all the cases finalized by it by the first week of March but the agency had moved a petition
on March 4 seeking more time to file chargesheets in the cases. "The CBI is strenuously making efforts to
meet the deadline fixed by the court. Inquiry or investigation in all three PEs and arising out of 14 cases
are being attended to simultaneously. In the process, reaching a logical conclusion is taking its due time,"
the agency had said. "For these reasons, forming an opinion in terms of Section 173(2) of Criminal
Procedure Code (filing of chargesheet) on the basis of scrutiny of evidence collected in six completed
RCs and preparation of final report would take some more time for submission before the appropriate trial
court," CBI had said in its plea before the apex court. In its earlier status report before the Supreme Court,

CBI had said inquiries in respect of 87 companies had been finalized besides probe in respect of 38
companies had been concluded. According to the comptroller and auditor general, an estimated loss of
Rs 1.86 lakh crore was caused to the exchequer in the coal block allocation scam. (Times of India
10/3/14)
Vigilance probes J&K land scam (5)
Jammu: In fresh trouble for the Congress at the time of Lok Sabha elections, the state vigilance body has
begun preliminary probe into the Rs 25,000 crore land scam in Jammu and Kashmir, that was unearthed
by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) during an audit implementation of the much-hyped Roshni
Act. Official sources said two Special Investigation Teams (SITs) have been constituted to scrutinise the
revenue record pertaining to the transfer of the state land to the occupants in Jammu, Samba and
Udhapur districts, besides Srinagar and Budgam districts. The respective deputy commissioners have
been asked to provide relevant records to the SITs. This reportedly followed instructions from State
Vigilance Commission (SVC) headed by Kuldeep Khoda. Denying the registration of any formal FIR in the
matter, IG (SVC) Alok Puri, said a preliminary scrutiny of the relevant revenue record is being conducted.
The Jammu Kashmir State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act was enacted by Farooq
Abdullahs NC in 2001 to mobilise Rs 25,448 crore for financing hydel projects in the state. For this, the
Act envisaged selling of an over 20.64 lakh kanals of state land under to its occupants at market rates.
The Act was later amended by the Congress-PDP regime and the Ghulam Nabi Azad government
implemented it. (Indian Express 13/3/14)
Coal scam: Manish Tewari brands BJP a self-firing automatic weapon full of blanks (5)
New Delhi: With the opposition targeting the Prime Minister over coal block allocations in wake of remarks
of ex-Coal Secretary P C Parakh,Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari hit back at the
BJP,calling it a self-firing automatic weapon which is unfortunately full of blanks. Our attention has been
drawn to some reports which have appeared in sections of press today. Most respectfully,I would like to
submit that the entire matter is under investigation and the investigation that is being monitored by the
Supreme Court of India directly. Therefore,in a subjudice matter where investigations are in progress it is
inappropriate for people to be commenting in a manner in which theyve done he told reporters at New
Delhi. Parakh,who has been booked by CBI in the coal scam,earlier said that Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh was the final decision maker and must be counted as a conspirator,prompting BJP to demand a
thorough probe. On if the latest FIR in connection with alleged irregularities in the allocation of two coal
blocks in Odisha would give fresh ammunition to BJP,Tewari said,Well do you think that the Bhartiya
Janata Party requires ammunition? They are a self-propelled and self-firing automatic weapon which is
unfortunately full of blanks, he said. Attacking the opposition party,Tewari said,To expect anything else
from BJP except irresponsibility would be expecting the Sun to rise from the west rather than the east. I
dont think it is important as to what BJP has to say,because they have been saying this for the last ten
years. But responsibility and propriety demand that in an investigation which is being monitored by the
apex court,people need to be restrained in their utterances, he said. The Minister said that if some
people did have anything to say,they will have their say at the appropriate forum,at the appropriate time.
The government has provided all documents to the investigators and,therefore,this unnecessary
speculation is something which needs to be avoided,he added. On a complaint being lodged against a
Madhya Pradesh minister for allegedly handing over cash after the model code had come to force in pollbound state,Tewari said distribution of money,especially when the model code has kicked in,its an
extremely serious violation. The Election Commission needs to take cognisance of and,accordingly,take
appropriate action, he said. To another question as to whether Congress was underestimating the
challenge posed by BJPs PM candidate Narendra Modi,Tewari said,The proof of the pudding lies in the
eating and the eating would be determined in 2014 when Lok Sabha elections would be contested.
(Indian Express 14/3/14)

Missing file may help babus get away in coal scam (5)
New Delhi: Bureaucrats responsible for the Hyderabad-based Navbharat Power Private Ltd (NPPL) being
allocated two coal blocks in Odisha in 2008 despite misrepresentations made in the firms application
could get away as a crucial coal ministry report that could determine their complicity is missing. The
agency suspects that government officials responsible for scrutinising applicants for basic criteria appear
to have colluded with the firm, but it cannot charge any government functionary yet as the file containing
the report is missing. Earlier this week, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed its first charge sheet
in the coal blocks allocation scam in which it accused NPPL and its two top officials of misrepresenting
facts in their application for the coal blocks. NPPL was allocated the Rampia and Dip-side of Rampia coal
blocks and the CBI has alleged that the firms promoters made an illegal profit of around `208 crore by
selling the company in 2010 after it was allocated those blocks. A senior CBI source told HT that some
other coal scam cases the agency filed 16 FIRs in all are also likely to be affected because of the
missing file. The Supreme Court has directed the CBI to file charge sheets in five cases by the end of this
month. In 2007, the government had asked experts from the public-sector Coal India Limited (CIL) to
scrutinise applications to ascertain the financial strength of the applicants. The CIL had prepared a
scrutiny report but the file containing this report is missing. It would have helped us determine if public
servants had colluded with the accused firm via willful omission or it was negligence or a systemic flaw, a
CBI officer said. For a proposed power project of 2,220 MW capacity, the firm was required to have a net
worth of at least Rs. 4,000 crore as per the coal ministrys norms. But the firms total worth including
that of its two promoters was only Rs. 300 crore when it applied for the coal blocks. NPPL wrongfully
claimed to have a net worth of around R1 lakh crore on the strength of two European firms Globeleq
and Suez Energy International in its application form, the official said. Acting on an SC directive, the
CBI had filed two preliminary enquiries (PE) last September to probe if there was any conspiracy on the
part of government officials due to which files related to the coal-scam probe in 29 categories were
missing from the coal ministry. In January, senior CBI officials said that since most of the missing files had
been recovered and no criminality against any government official was found, the agency would approach
the apex court for its permission to close the PEs. (Hindustan Times 15/3/14)
Corruption, bribery and fraud biggest risks for India Inc: Survey (5)
New Delhi: Corruption, bribery and corporate frauds has emerged as the biggest risk affecting corporate
India, according to a new survey. The India Risk Survey 2014 released here on Friday was carried out by
FICCI and Pinkerton to assess the impact of risks across the industry and geography of the country.
Strikes, Closures and Unrest' has been rated as the second biggest risk. In last years survey, it was
ranked as the biggest risk, the survey added. Interestingly, Corruption, Bribery and Corporate Frauds
ranked fourth in the last years survey. Political and Governance Instability' has been rated as the third
biggest risk this year, an obvious pointer towards political uncertainty surrounding the upcoming general
elections. Crime and Information and cyber insecurity have been rated as the No. 4 and No. 5 risks,
respectively. G.K. Pillai, Chair, FICCI Homeland Security Committee and former Union Home Secretary,
said, Political and governance instability will not lead to creation of employment which is the most
important issue facing the nation and its youth. A policy environment that trusts businessmen and
entrepreneurs is the need of the hour. The results of the survey are based on a collation from a set of 12
risks that have been identified after a series of brainstorming sessions. (Business Line 21/3/14)
Corruption being blown out of proportion: Sam Pitroda (5)
Bangalore: Chairman of National Innovation Council Sam Pitroda feels that corruption has become a way
of life in Indian society and it was being blown out of proportion. "I think lot of this corruption is blown out
of proportion. First of all, let me tell you - not that I like corruption, don't get me wrong, corruption is a way
of life in our society," Pitroda told reporters replying to a question on corruption being a big issue for UPA

government today. Speaking at "Meet the Press", organised by the Bangalore Press Club and the
Reporters Guild of Bangalore, he said that it was not that any party was corrupt or not, but everybody in
the society was corrupt. "Business is corrupt, teachers are corrupt, doctors are corrupt, politicians are
corrupt, everybody is corrupt. Not just the Indian society is corrupt, there is corruption in US but it is
sophisticated. As it is sophisticated, you and I don't get affected directly. There is corruption in China,
Japan, Russia - so it has became a way of life, not that I like it. But let's not get hung-up on it," he said.
Pitroda said that one can't stop doing things just because there was corruption. "If somebody is corrupt,
action should be taken... but you can't take 20 year to decide it. Fix it soon, three years or whatever." He
stressed on the need to improve the system slowly and said if somebody has done wrong then he should
pay for it; each one of us has to take responsibility...so I think we will have to work with the system we
have and slowly and slowly improve." Pitroda also stated that good work done by the government was not
being publicised and said "we probably didn't do a good job of communicating, explaining to people." To a
question as to who was accountable for this communication gap, he said "I don't blame anybody, there is
no sense in blaming somebody, everyone has their own style; we didn't do a good job of communicating,
that's what people think and I am just telling, what people tell me." (The Financial Express 22/3/14)
Vasundhara Raje attacks Congress over corruption (5)
Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today kick started the Lok Sabha campaign with an
attack on Congress, alleging that each person in the state is under a debt of Rs 75,000 due to the policies
of its previous government in the state and at the Centre. "People in the state are under a debt of Rs
75,000 each and the economy suffered due to the policies of the Congress governments," she said.
Addressing rallies in Jaipur and Churu, Raje alleged that corruption was rampant during the rule of former
Congress government in Rajasthan and government did nothing for the development of the state. "Due to
the former government, the state is facing a difficult phase financially. There was a gap between people
and the government during Congress rule but when BJP came to power, we started doing 'Jan Sunwai'
and Cabinet meetings at divisional headquarters level to get the ground level feedback," she said, while
asking people to vote for BJP to get a better government at the Centre. BJP secretary Bhupendra Yadav,
party's state president Ashok Parnami, health minister Rajendra Rathore and other leaders were present
in the rallies. (Zee News 23/3/14)
Whistleblower writes to PM, says PMO officials withholding info (5)
NEW DELHI: Facing roadblocks in his crusade against corrupt public servants, whistleblower Sanjiv
Chaturvedi, an Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer, has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
seeking action against certain PMO officials who were allegedly protecting powerful politicians and
bureaucrats of the B S Hooda-led Haryana government by not sharing information under the
transparency law. Chaturvedi alleged that some PMO officials were concealing certain information directly
and indirectly linked to the 'proposed' CBI probe into the multi-crore plantation scam in the state
unearthed by him during his posting in Haryana in 2009. The IFoS officer, posted as chief vigilance officer
of AIIMS, had sought this information from the PMO under the RTI Act which, he claimed, would go a
long way in fixing responsibility of politicians and bureaucrats in many cases of corruption in Haryana.
The specific information sought by him pertained to documents and file notings on meetings of officers of
the ministries of personnel and environment that took place in the PMO on the issue of recommending a
CBI inquiry into the plantation scam. Unable to get the information, he went on to appeal before the first
appellate authority under the transparency law. Though the authority in November last year directed the
PMO to provide Chaturvedi the relevant information, he has not got the details. In his letter to the PM on
March 10, the Haryana-cadre IFoS officer of 2002 batch said, "This is a very unfortunate situation where
officers of your own office are involved in blatant violation of one of the flagship legislations (RTI Act) of
your tenure, which has always been projected by your good self as the most significant achievement of
your government." Without taking names of public servants, he alleged that the motive of these officers

(of the PMO) appeared to be to somehow protect corrupt politicians and bureaucrats of Haryana
government. "However, in the process, these officers of your esteemed office have simply made a
mockery of the RTI Act, 2005, for which, they should be properly punished," Chaturvedi said in his letter
which he claimed to have written in his "private capacity as citizen of India".Besides demanding inquiry
against concerned PMO officials, Chaturvedi also forwarded his letter to the Central Vigilance
Commission (CVC) seeking immediate protection for himself under the statutory provisions related to
protection of whistleblowers. Chaturvedi had exposed the scam while he was posted as divisional forest
officer in Jhajjar in January 2009. He had detected that funds from international donor agencies were
allegedly embezzled in the state in the name of plantation. He had blown the lid off the irregularities when
he found that the plantation existed only on paper. The ministry of environment and forests carried out an
inquiry and termed it a fit case to probed by CBI. The ministry had in its inquiry in 2010 even named
certain bureaucrats and politicians in Haryana as being involved in the scams and harassment of the
whistleblower. Chaturvedi had in November 2012 moved the Supreme Court to implement the ministry's
inquiry report and order a CBI inquiry into the matter. The state government, however, recently filed a
petition before the high court for quashing the inquiry report. (Times of India 26/3/14)
CBI arrests two more in fake MCI registration scam (5)
NEW DELHI: The CBI on Tuesday arrested alleged middleman Jitendra Jagodia and a leady cleark of the
Medical Council of India (MCI) in its probe in the scam involving registration of fake doctors. The illegal
network of fake doctors who got their medical degrees from Russia and China was being assisted by
Jagodia in getting clearances from the medical body. Sources said that certificates, that allow doctors to
practise anywhere in India, were being sold for Rs 15 lakh each. Jagodia, sources said, was in touch with
MCI officials. "They didn't require undertaking exams for getting the clearance. The records were altered
in MCI to favour the doctors," said an officer. CBI had last week unearthed the scandal after arresting five
doctors who possessed medical degrees from Russia and China and allegedly obtained recognition from
MCI through fraudulent means. So far, nine people have been arrested in the scandal. At least three of
the doctors, who had allegedly got a forged registration from MCI, were working in government hospitals
in Gujarat, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. The CBI case was also against unnamed officials of MCI and
some others. Government has made screening test mandatory for medical students who passed out from
erstwhile USSR countries and China to be eligible to practise in India. CBI alleged these candidates had
colluded with MCI officials who gave them permission to practise in return for illegal gratification even as
the doctors did not fulfill the necessary parameters. Sources said there could be more arrests soon. The
registration documents seized during searches last Thursday would be sent for forensic examination.
(Times of India 27/3/14)
Irrigation scam probe fails to name Pawar (5)
MUMBAI: The Chitale committee which probed the irrigation scam in the state has found "major
irregularities" in the way project costs were increased through revised administrative approvals (RAA) and
recommended "strict action" against officials involved. The Special Investigative Team (SIT) headed by
Madhav Chitale found that RAAs for 27 projects in Vidarbha, Tapi and Godavari-Marathwada were illegal.
The state finance department was kept in the dark when these RAAs were sanctioned by various
irrigation corporations between October 7, 2006, and August 20, 2009. "That the government did not
know this is difficult to digest and cannot be accepted. These officers must be identified," it said. But the
committee did not investigate the core issue of corruption, including arbitrary increase in tender costs,
awarding additional works to contractors without inviting tenders and involvement of senior ministers in
the scam, saying the issues were beyond its mandate. The report mentioned that "these core issues were
riddled with grave irregularities which require deep and thorough investigation by a competent
authority".The man at the centre of the controversy, the then water resources minister Ajit Pawar who
briefly resigned following a TOI expose in September 2012, finds no mention in the report. This

newspaper had reported how Pawar had issued circulars which circumvented the mandatory approval of
the state finance department and were directly responsible for jacking up tender rates. The report has
apportioned the blame on officials... (Times of India 1/4/14)
HUDA land scam: Final buyers move HC for re-allotment letters (5)
Chandigarh: The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) scam about multiple plot allotment in 18
reserved categories, including defence, has left the present purchasers a harried lot and forced them to
move the Punjab and Haryana high court for re-allotment letters. In one case where a defence officer had
sold his HUDAallotted reserved plot further and then secured another, two Kurukshetra people have
challenged HUDAs refusing to issue the re-allotment letter for the initial sold plot. Taking up the petition
of Parveen Kumari and her husband, the division bench comprising justices Surya Kant and Lisa Gill on
Tuesday issued a notice of motion to HUDA to demand its reply before May 20. In the petitioners case,
officer Jasvinder Singh Ghotra was the original allottee of 325 squareyard defence-quota plot at Urban
Estate, Kurukshetra, in May 2002. In May 2005, he sold the plot, after which it had six owners in eight
years. In September 2013, it came into the petitioners hands. In June 2006, after a year of selling his first
plot, officer Ghotra had another HUDAdefence-quota plot in his name at Jagadhri. In September last year,
after the execution of sale deed, the petitioners approached the HUDA officials in Kurukshetra for the
transfer of ownership in their name. In October 2013, the HUDA office issued them a letter stating that the
plot could not be re-allotted, as the original allottee, officer Gohtra, had obtained multiple plots
fraudulently. The plot in question was first allotted to officer Jasvinder Singh Ghotra in 2002 when he had
no other HUDA plot in his name and there was no cap on re-sale in the allotment letter, the petitioners
counsel, Vijay Kumar Jindal, has argued. Since Ghotra was allotted another plot in 2006, the first cannot
be said to be illegal, and so HUDA cannot refuse re-allotment in petitioners name, the counsel has
added. (Hindustan Times 2/4/14)
Rs 1.76L Crore Scam-hit Raja Has Just Rs 3.61 Crore (5)
COONOOR/COIMBATORE: Former Union Telecom Minister A Raja, the DMKs articulate Dalit face
accused of being the architect of the 2G scam, the Mother of all Scams which caused a presumptive
loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the country, is not among the richest candidates in the fray this General
Elections. Far from it, on Wednesday he declared assets of Rs 3.61 crore, which is merely one-and-a-half
times the assets worth Rs 1.45 crore he declared in 2009 when he had no corruption case against him.
Rajas net worth would be dwarfed if one were to even compare it with his predecessor from the
constituency and current Congress candidate in Coimbatore, R Prabhu, who has declared an asset value
of over Rs 61 crore. Raja, 50, filed his nomination before Nilgiris Returning Officer P Shankar declaring in
his affidavit that he has been named as an accused in a corruption case that could attract a punishment
of two years or more adding that no other criminal case is pending against him. While declaring a liability
of Rs 35.51 lakh and Rs 3.92 lakh in his and his wife M A Parameswaris name respectively, he declared
a Toyota Corolla Altis car worth Rs 13.81 lakh which he bought in 2010-11. His movable assets total Rs
1.45 crore, including Rs 7.98 lakh cash, Rs 64.79 lakh bank deposits, Rs 22.09 lakh worth investments
and Rs 1.2 lakh in National Saving Certificate. Besides, his gold holdings remain the same as 2009 a
108 sovereign-memento except that its value has appreciated to Rs 26.58 lakh. His silver holdings are
worth Rs 1.95 lakh. He owns furniture worth Rs 2.3 lakh. While he earned an income of Rs 8.09 lakh in
2012-13, his wife earned Rs 5.74 lakh during the same period. Interestingly, he has also loaned Rs 3.91
lakh to his wife. His 2,400 sqft house at Ganapathy Nagar, Tiruchy, which he had purchased in October
1994, is now worth Rs 32.85 lakh. Parameswari owns 5.53-acre agricultural land at Serkudi in Musiri near
Tiruchy valued at Rs 5.53 lakh. She also has five acres of land at Melapuliyur in her native Perambalur
district worth Rs 8.59 lakh. Besides, Raja has inherited 1.62 acres of agricultural land at Velur in
Perambalur. His wife has movable assets worth Rs 93.93 lakh, 175 sovereign gold jewellery valued at Rs
43.07 lakh and silver worth Rs 4.68 lakh. She also has a stake of Rs 32.38 lakh in partnership firm

Shivakamam Agency Capital. Rajas daughter Mayuri has Rs 18.15 lakh worth movable assets, including
25 sovereigns of gold worth Rs 6.15 lakh and a Rs 12 lakh diamond stud. Raja has Rs 41.03 lakh worth
Hindu Undivided Family assets. (New Indian Express 3/4/14)
Congress promises CBI probe into Odisha mining, chitfund scam (5)
Bhubaneswar: Promising CBI probe into mining, chitfund and other scams in Odisha, the Congress on
Friday said it would review all MoUs signed by BJD government in the state in last 10 years, provide
pucca houses to landless and allowance to unemployed youths if voted to power. Congress will provide
good governance and get scams like mining, water, land and chitfund scandals investigated by CBI,
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Jaydev Jena said while releasing partys
manifesto for Odisha where both Lok Sabha and Assembly polls are being held. In order to provide
corruption free administration, an empowered and strong Lokayukta would be set up in the State by
undertaking necessary amendments in the law, Mr. Jena said. Effective steps would be taken for
protection of precious mineral resources and their proper utilisation, while all MoUs signed by the State
government during the last 10 years would be thoroughly reviewed, he said. No individual and private
agencies would be given mining lease, Mr. Jena said adding steps would be taken for providing lease to
Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) and similar other government agencies if Congress is voted to power.
While local industrialists would be encouraged, steps would be taken to ensure proper compensation and
rehabilitation for people being displaced due to projects, Mr. Jena said. Promising proper implementation
of Justice M.B. Shah Commissions recommendation on mining scams, the Congress manifesto said Rs.
60,000 crore would be recovered from those who looted minerals by auctioning their property. While all
registered unemployed youths would be provided allowance in five years, over two lakh vacant posts
would be filled, Mr. Jena said adding minimum pay would be fixed for those working in unorganised and
private sector. Stating that all revenue villages would be converted into panchayats, he said a pension
scheme would be introduced to cover all marginal and handicapped farmers and landless farm labourers.
Similarly, farm loan would be given at 1 per cent interest and loan up to Rs. 25,000 will be interest free
and farmers would be provided free electricity. All landless persons would be identified and given
permanent land patta and pucca house in a time-bound manner, the OPCC chief said adding no one
would be allowed to die of starvation for which food security law is in place. All urban slum dwellers would
also be provided with pucca houses, Mr. Jena said. For the welfare of minority communities, there would
be a minority commissioner and special policy would be framed for security of these communities, he
said. Recommendations would be made for establishment of permanent benches of Odissa High Court in
western and southern regions of the State, while steps would be taken for setting up four medical
colleges in these two regions. The headquarters of Western Odisha Development Council (WODC) would
be shifted to a main location in western region to make it more effective, he said. (The Hindu 5/4/14)
Charges framed against eight in investment scam (5)
MUMBAI: The special Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act court on Saturday
framed charges against eight persons in the alleged multi-crore investment Suman Motels scam. Over the
years, several complaints were filed by investors who were unable to recover funds deposited in a timeshare investment scheme of Suman Motels. Suman Motels had floated 12 investment schemes offering
stakes in holiday homes, plantations and resorts. "The company floated bonds, certificates, promissory
notes and even advance cheques, all of which bounced, and investors were left in the lurch," said Chetan
Kothari, an RTI activist. (Times of India 6/4/14)
PIL questions govt inaction against tainted officials (5)
HYDERABAD: A public interest petition was filed in the AP high court on Saturday urging it to direct the
state government to explain why it is not according sanction to prosecute the officials facing corruption
charges. The petitioner, advocate O Yella Reddy of Secunderabad, complained that the state government

has been consistently failing to grant prosecution permission even in cases where the Anti-Corruption
Bureau (ACB) had recommended it. He sought a direction to the government to submit a detailed report
to the court explaining its inaction, while alleging that it is shielding corrupt officials. He also wanted the
government and ACB to disclose the information regarding corrupt officials to the general public as it
would facilitate people to come forward and give evidence against them. The petitioner submitted that
there are a total of 1,860 cases wherein the ACB had recommended prosecution from 2005 to 2014 (till
Feb this year). About 817 cases of trap and disproportionate assets were pending during this period. The
chief secretary and ACB director general were named as respondents. HC to review safety norms for
power plant workersThe AP high court has taken up the cause of those working in coal-based power
plants. In accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta has
decided to oversee the steps initiated by the State, Centre and statutory authorities in putting in place
relevant rules and regulations, health and safety norms for those working in various Coal Fired Thermal
Power Plants (CFTPPs) in Andhra Pradesh. In January this year, the Supreme Court had issued
directions while dealing with a case pitting the Occupational Health and Safety Association against the
Union of India. The petition pertained to framing of guidelines with respect to occupational safety and
health regulations to be maintained by various industries, constituting a committee to monitor the working
of thermal power plants in AP. (Times of India 7/4/14)
PGMET scam accused sent to judicial remand (5)
VIJAYAWADA: Four students and seven brokers who were arrested by the CID sleuths in Hyderabad on
Monday in connection with PGMET-2014 scam, were produced before the Additional City Metropolitan
Magistrate here on Tuesday, and sent for 14 days judicial remand. Today being a holiday on account of
Sri Rama Navami, the accused were produced before the judge at his residence. With these 11, the total
number of persons arrested has gone up to 20. Earlier, about nine days ago, two brokers and seven
students were taken into custody. The brokers who were produced before the Magistrate today include -Ch. Bhushan Reddy, Paulson, Kistappa, Chakravarthi, Vijay, Abhimanyu and Patrik. The students
includes Ch. Rama Rao (14 ranker), Ch. Sai Praneeth (15), K. Ramana (26) and P. Bharath Kumar (7).
Probe. The probe was ordered by Governor and Chancellor of Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences E.
S. L. Narasimhan, after students and PG aspirants, raised hue and cry over some students with
questionable credentials, securing top ranks in the examination. After a detailed probe by the CID, it was
assessed that the PGMET-2014 question paper was secured by the brokers before hand and sold to a
select group of students who secured top ranks. (The Hindu 9/4/14)
No Lokpal for Maha yet (5)
Mumbai: Two months after the passing of the deadline set up by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan
regarding implementation of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013 in the state, the general administration
department of the government of Maharashtra has said in reply to an RTI query that it is still in a limbo
regarding whether the Act should be passed in the same format or should it be amended. After the Act
was passed in the Parliament in December 2013, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had announced that the
Lokayukta Act in the state would be implemented by February 2014. The chief minister had said, The
state government is going to take every step needed to fulfill Rahul Gandhis directive on establishing a
framework to tackle corruption by the forming of the Lokayukta in Maharashtra. After the deadline was
crossed, an RTI query filed by activist Jeetendra Ghadge found that government officials are making use
of the Section 63 of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013, which mentions a one-year deadline for states
that dont have Lokayuktas. The Act is also silent about states that already have Lokayuktas. Since
Maharashtra already has a Lokayukta system in place, the officials are taking advantage of the having
no-deadlines to enact this Act, said Mr Ghadge. mAccording to the reply given by A.N. Khot, under
secretary of the state, Lokayukta is already functional in the state since 1971, so there is no need to form
a new Lokayukta. However, an amendment or new Act will be considered, but no decision has been

taken yet. This clearly proves that Maharashtra government has not even decided whether to amend the
existing Act or make a new one. It shows the callousness of the government led by a party whose leader
Rahul Gandhi was claiming it to be a game changer in the history of our country. I dont see this Act
getting passed in the next Assembly session in June this year either, added Mr Ghadge. Preeti Sharma
Menon, spokesperson of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said, This government knows very well that if this
Act is institutionalised properly, then most of the ministers and babus would be behind the bars. Be it
Congress or BJP, they would always debate and pass it, but would never endorse it. I am not surprised.
State chief minister Prithviraj Chavan could not be reached for his comment. However, Fauzia Khan,
minister of state for general administration department (GAD) said, We have had a few meetings and we
are hopeful to push the enactment after the elections are over. (Asian Age 12/4/14)
Kejriwal Did Not Act in Haste to Resign As Delhi CM: Shazia (5)
Indore: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, Shazia Ilmi said here today that the party chief Arvind Kejriwal
had not acted in haste by resigning as the chief minister of Delhi. "I don't think that AAP convener Arvind
Kejriwal has acted in haste by resigning from the post of chief minister of Delhi on the issue of Jan Lokpal
as I was party to the decision and it (Jan Lokpal) is our major issue," Shazia told reporters. She said had
the party remained in power after it was not being allowed to table the Jan Lokpal bill, then media would
have said today that he (Kejriwal) was "greedy for power".Shazia termed as "malicious campaign" the
Opposition's charges, especially that of BJP that Kejriwal has run away from the ground after resigning as
the Chief Minister. She said it appears that the party was unable to convince effectively to the people why
it had resigned on the issue of Jan Lokpal and also blamed a section of media for it. "It was a matter of
principle for us and we thought that people would be happier if we quit on the issue of Jan Lokpal," she
said. Earlier, Shazia addressed a rally in support of AAP's Indore candidate, Anil Trivedi and questioned
the rationale behind raising the slogan 'Har-Har Modi' in support of BJP's prime ministerial candidate
Narendra Modi. She said that people want power, water, roads, health and education and what will they
do with "Har-Har Modi", she asked. Taking a jibe at BJP leaders, Shazia asked, "When they have not
spared Bhagwan and Allah, will they spare a common man?" (Outlook 13/4/14)
ED lens on contractors in multi-crore scam (5)
KOLKATA: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has started probing the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development
Authority (SJDA) scam in which funds to the tune of Rs 140 crore were siphoned off. Already, a petition is
pending in Calcutta high court for a CBI probe in this case. The ED has already summoned the chairman
of SJDA, Gautam Deb, who also happens to be the minister for north Bengal affairs. ED officials said as
the chairman did not meet them, they have asked the CEO of SJDA to submit all relevant documents.
The scam came to light after Deb became the chairman of the SJDA in March 2013. Deb could not be
contacted for a comment. The ED officials are zeroing in on the contractors who got payments without
even completing the construction work for three crematoriums. They also allegedly made payments to
politicians who were part of the nexus. So, the interrogation of the contractors is going to be vital and their
bank accounts are also under watch. "After encashing of cheques, how the cash was used can be a vital
clue." Police have already interrogated Dr Rudranath Bhattacharya, a Trinamool MLA and the former
chairman of SJDA, under whose regime the scam allegedly surfaced. Police also interrogated Shankar
Malakar, a Congress MLA who was a board member in SJDA, for his alleged links in the scam. In the
SJDA scam, IAS officer Godala Kiran Kumar, the district magistrate of Malda, was arrested along with
three government engineers. However, Kiran Kumar got bail a day after his arrest on November 30. He is
now on leave and is staying in Andhra Pradesh. The government had removed the then police
commissioner of Siliguri, K Jairaman, for not taking a nod from it before arresting the accused DM. The
state was initially going soft on Kiran Kumar. and allowed his release on bail, as the state did not oppose
his bail prayer. Even the state's chief secretary Sanjay Mitra had stated "It is highly embarrassing and
unwarranted." Now, the state is contemplating to suspend the accused IAS officer and has written to the

Centre's department of personnel and training (DOPT). But, DOPT has asked for the necessary vetting
from the law department and wants key statements made by the former DM in this case before
processing his suspension. The alleged financial irregularities took place when Kiran Kumar was the CEO
of SJDA in 2011. Sharad Dwivedi, who took charge from Kiran Kumar as CEO of SJDA, complained to
police in May 2013 alleging misappropriation of funds. He said payments were made to firms violating
norms. Major irregularities were found in the construction work of three electric crematoriums and
sewerage treatment plants, along with cleaning and de-silting of Jorapani river. He alleged that no work
was actually done. Moreover, Rs 10 crore was misused for installing CCTV cameras inSiliguri. There
were total eight cases of corruption slapped against Kiran Kumar and the ED officials are processing
necessary documents. Investigators said funds to the tune of Rs 140 crore were paid to private firms
before the projects were completed. So, ED officials are trying to locate the fund flow to trace the
beneficiaries. (Times of India 14/4/14)
Three more arrested in Shreesurya scam (5)
NAGPUR: Economic offence wing (EOW) of crime branch on Tuesday has arrested three Amravati-based
persons, including a father-son duo, for their alleged role as agents for Shreesurya group that has been
accused of duping many of several crore rupees. The three had pocketed around Rs 8 crore commission
by urging people to invest in Shreesurya's financial schemes. Mukund Pitle and his son Mohan, who had
come to meet a kin at Dindayal Nagar in Nagpur, were arrested here along with accomplice Nitin
Keshkar. It is learnt offences had been earlier registered against Pitles in Amravati. The cops in Amravati
had also seized properties and frozen their bank accounts, it is learnt. Nagpur crime branch wanted
custody of Pitles as a part of their investigation. Roles of six agents are under scanner by cops. Eight
persons, including Shreesurya group chief Sameer Joshi and his wife Pallavi, have been so far arrested
in the case. Police claimed that 837 have lodged complaint against the group. Police sources claimed
most of Pitles' victims were employees of MSEDCL in Amravati. Pitles and Keshkar, after being produced
before a court, have been remanded to custody for four days. (Times of India 16/4/14)
Lokpal: NGO moves plea in SC for stay on selection process (5)
New Delhi: An NGO today moved a fresh plea in the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the entire
selection process for appointment of chairperson and members of the Lokpal, saying that government
was going ahead with it despite the apex court being seized of the issue. "It is submitted that the latest
move by the Government to proceed with the appointment of the Chairperson and members of the
Lokpal, even while this Court is seized of the issue of the validity of the Rules framed under the Lokpal
Act, is not only highly improper but also illegal and arbitrary," the application said. The NGO filed the fresh
plea following apex court's oral observation during an hearing earlier in which the bench had said if it
comes across any such development(by the government so far as the selection of Lokpal and its
members was concerned), it would be at liberty to approach this court for interim directions. In its
application, NGO Common Cause said it has come to know that on April 11, the Prime Minister had
asked all the members of the Lokpal Selection Committee to inform about their availability so that a
meeting of the panel could be held. The application also said the government was going ahead with the
selection process in spite of "serious flaws" in the rules of selection and sought to declare "illegal" the
rules under which selections are being done. The petitioner further submitted that "despite the fact that
the Rules under which the Chairperson and Members of Lokpal are to be appointed are under challenge
in the present writ petition and that this Court has already issued notice and fixed May 5 as the next date
of hearing, the Government is pushing ahead with the process of appointment of the Chairperson and
Members of the Lokpal." Earlier on April 1, a bench of justices R M Lodha and Kurian Joseph had sought
response from the Centre asking it to justify within four weeks the Search Committee (Constitution, Terms
and Conditions of appointment of members and manner of selection of Panel of names for appointment of
Chairperson and Members of Lokpal) Rules, 2014, framed under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2014.

The NGO filed the fresh plea in the matter pending before the apex court in which it had questioned the
entire selection process for appointment of chairperson and members of the Lokpal. The PIL has sought
a declaration that certain provisions of the rules are ultra vires of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act and also
sought quashing of the entire selection process initiated under the rules alleging that it is "illegal, arbitrary"
and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. "Justice K T Thomas and Fali Nariman, who were offered
the post of the chairman and member of the Search Committee respectively, have already declined to
accept the offers on these very grounds," the petition has said. "Therefore, if the selection process of the
Lokpal is not stayed during the pendency of the present writ petition, it would be rendered infructuous and
public interest would suffer," it has said. (Zee News 17/4/14)
VVIP chopper scam: CBI chief meets envoy in Italy (5)
New Delhi: CBI Director Ranjit Sinha recently met Indian envoy in Rome in a bid to expedite probe into
the alleged irregularities in Rs 3,546 crore AgustaWestland helicopter deal. Sinha, who was in the Italian
capital last week to attend a conference on human trafficking, discussed ways to fast-track the agency
probe into the deal with Basant Kumar Gupta, Indian Ambassador to Italy, the CBI sources said. Sinha
pressed for early execution of the agencys Letters Rogatory to Italy seeking certain information on the
accused and companies named in its FIR. The agency was awaiting the replies to LRs to file a
chargesheet in the scam, the sources said. Former chief of IAF S P Tyagi and about a dozen others have
been named in the FIR registered by the CBI on March 13, last year, to probe the deal. Tyagi cousins
Sanjeev, alias Julie, Rajeev, alias Docsa, and Sandeep, European middlemen Carlo Gerosa, Christian
Michel and Guido Haschke have also been named in the FIR as accused. The top executives of Italian
firm Finmeccanica and its UK-based subsidiary AgustaWestland are facing trial in Italy for alleged
corruption in supply of 12 VVIP helicopters to India. (Indian Express 19/4/14)
SC to hear plea to stop Lokpal selection (5)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on April 25 an application from Common Cause, a non-profit
organisation, seeking to restrain the Union government from going ahead with the Lokpal selection
process. A Bench headed by Justice R.M. Lodha has already issued a notice to the Centre, returnable on
May 5, on the writ petition filed by Common Cause challenging the Lokpal selection process and the rules
governing selection of members. On Monday, counsel Prashant Bhushan made a mention before a
Bench of Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and N.V. Ramana about the filing of the
present application and sought early hearing. The Bench posted the matter for hearing on April 25.
Common Cause said there was a communication from the Prime Minister on April 11 to all members of
the selection committee to indicate their availability between April 24 and 28 so that a meeting could be
held to appoint the chairperson and members of the Lokpal. (The Hindu 22/4/14)
Govt declines information on Lokpal aspirants (5)
NEW DELHI: The Centre has declined to divulge details of persons who have applied for the posts of
chairperson and members of anti-corruption body Lokpal, saying these are "personal" in nature and
cannot be disclosed. Replying to an RTI query, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) also
declined to furnish copies of communication, sent to and received from individuals, accepting or rejecting
the government's offer to become members of the Lokpal Search Committee, saying the file "is not readily
available".The DoPT said that the selection process for appointment of the chairperson and members of
the Lokpal is under consideration of the competent authorities, as per the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act.
"The name of persons, their references/letters etc. can't be disclosed as the information sought is
exempted under Section 8(1)(J) of the RTI Act, 2005," it said in reply to a question asking details about
persons who have applied to be chairperson and members of the Lokpal. The section exempts
publication of information which relates to personal information and the disclosure of which has no
relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of

the individual. The government, however, gave names of eight persons chosen for appointment as
chairperson or members of the Search Committee during a meeting held in February 21 this year. Those
selected then included Justice (retd) K T Thomas (Chairperson) and seven members Kaki Madhava
Rao (former IAS officer), F S Nariman (legal luminary), Prof Meenakshi Gopinath (educationist), M L
Kumawat (former Director General of Border Security Force), H K Dua (senior journalist and Rajya Sabha
member), S Y Quraishi (former Chief Election Commissioner) and Prof Mrinal Miri (Rajya Sabha
member). In a setback to the UPA government, Thomas and Nariman subsequently refused to be part of
the search panel. (Times of India 27/4/14)
AAP Member Ashwini Upadhyaya Resigns With 2400 Others (5)
LUCKNOW: AAP's national council member Ashwini Upadhyaya, who was expelled for his "anti-party
activities", today left the party with 2,400 other workers. Talking to reporters here, Upadhyaya alleged that
the ideology, with which AAP was formed, has lost somewhere and the common man was feeling
cheated. He said due to this 2,400 workers, including convenors of eight wards and 40 local incharges,
have resigned from the party. Upadhayay questioned AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal "why he
elected unconstitutional way for Jan Lokpal bill and why Delhi Lokayukta was not made stronger?" He
said, "Kejriwal resigned from the post of Delhi Chief Minister without referendum." "AAP fielded 455
candidates in tacit understanding with Congress to divide votes," he said. He alleged that "Sisodia's Kabir
Foundation was registered in 2007, then how he managed to get Rs 44 lakh in 2005 and 32 lakh in 2006
from Ford Foundation." Upadhyaya also asked why AAP made Yudhveer Singh, who gave clean chit to
Robert Vadra in land deal, its candidate from Hisar Lok Sabha seat. (New Indian Express 28/4/14)

Give Black Money Info to Jethmalani: SC (5)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday appointed two of its former judges to head the Special
Investigating Team (SIT) to probe the black money stashed by Indians in foreign tax havens. The court
also asked the government to hand over the names, documents and information of 26 Indians, who were
investigated by the tax authorities, to senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, a petitioner in the case. Since the
investigation is complete into the aforesaid mentioned cases, now we once again direct Union of India to
furnish the documents and information which is kept in the covers (sealed) to petitioners within three days
from today, a bench comprising justices H L Dattu, Ranjana Prakash Desai and M B Lokur said. The
government was resisting for nearly three years the disclosure of the names and appointment of SIT,
though the court had directed it to do so in its judgment dated 2012. The government argued that the
disclosure of names will violate the confidentiality clauses in international protocol. The names have
already been handed over to the court. Former judge M B Shah will be the chairman of SIT and Arijit
Pasayat will be the vice chairman. The court asked them to initiate and conclude the work as
expeditiously as possible. Justice Shah will replace former apex court judge B P Jeevan Reddy who
recused himself due to personal reasons. The bench directed the Centre to issue notification on their
appointment within three weeks. The court will monitor the progress of the SIT which will submit its first
report on August 20. (Indian Express 2/5/14)
L-G clamps down on corruption, 19 surprise checks in govt depts. (5)
New Delhi: A series of surprise checks was carried out to clamp down on corruption and illegal activities
in public-dealing departments of the Delhi government on Thursday. This action was initiated on the
directions of Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung, officials said. Nineteen teams comprising IAS and IPS officers,
Anti-Corruption Branch officers and SDMs conducted surprise checks in the Food and Supplies,
Education, Health and Transport departments of the Delhi government. Such visits are likely to continue
over the next few days, the official said. The checks were carried out by joint teams of the departments
of Food and Supplies, Consumer Affairs, Weights and Measures, Transport and Anti-Corruption, the

official said. Five zonal offices of the Transport department, petrol pumps, fair price shops (FPS) and
schools were visited. The Directorate of Education carried out surprise checks of five schools Maxfort
School, Pitampura; St Lawrence Convent, Geeta Colony; Vivekananda International School, IP
Extension; Modern International School, Sector-19, Dwarka; and Moti Ram Memorial Girls Sr Sec School,
Dilshad Garden. The objective of the inspection was to check any irregularities related to nursery
admission. Irregularities in the admission process were found in one-two schools which were not following
the circulars issued by the Education department. Besides that, the 25 per cent EWS quota was not
filled, an official said. The reports are being examined and action will be taken after obtaining comments
from schools. Some teams also inspected 26 fair price shops, of which 13 were either found closed or
diversion of foodgrains was detected. These have been sealed by the teams. In five cases where
diversion of food grains was detected and records were not properly maintained, FIRs have been lodged,
the official said. Action will also be taken against violators for irregularities like not opening shop, nondistribution of food grains, non-display of rate list and statutory information... (Indian Express 2/5/14)
CBI can investigate corruption charges against top babus without govt nod: SC (5)
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a single directive provision which barred CBI
from investigating corruption charges against joint secretary and above rank officers without prior
permission of the Centre. The court held as invalid and unconstitutional the provision in the law requiring
government's approval to probe senior bureaucrats on corruption charges. All government officials have
to be treated equally and have to face the same process of inquiry in graft cases, the SC said, adding,
"status of top bureaucrats is of no relevance in the offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act".The
apex court said such a classification of bureaucrats for investigation purposes violated Article 14 of the
Constitution which mandated that law would treat everyone equally. "Prior permission from the Centre to
probe corruption charges against joint secretary level officers would fetter the CBI from collecting
evidence and also alert the corrupt to destroy evidence," the Supreme Court added. "Protection of prior
approval for probing graft charges against officers at level of joint secretary and above has propensity of
shielding corruption," the Supreme Court said. This is the second time the apex court is striking down the
single directive provision in Delhi Special Police Establishment Act. (Times of India 6/5/14)
Lokayukta awaits government nod to book corrupt babus (5)
BHOPAL: Contrary to avowed zero tolerance to corruption, the state government is dragging its feet on
giving its go-ahead to prosecute three officials, who were caught red-handed accepting bribe, for almost
10 months. The dithering on the issue continues despite a nod for action from state's advocate general
and law department, sources said. After waiting long to hear from the government, Lokayukta's special
police establishment (SPE) has shot off yet another missive to remind the department of its clearance for
prosecution. Authorities' apparent reluctance prompted Lokayukta police to bring the issue to notice of
Lokayukta Justice P P Naolekar. Justice Naolekar will summon secretary of the department to seek
explanation for the inordinate delay, sources said. SPE officials maintain that their hands are tied and
they would not be in a position to act against the three before prior sanction, which is mandatory under
the Section 19 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Three employees of corporation, vehicle
department in charge Rajeev Lochan Sharma, accountant Anil Prakash Soni and clerk Ramji Choudhary
were caught accepting bribe to clear pending bills worth Rs 2 lakh of a travel agency. Rs 5,000, Rs 2,000
and Rs 1,000 were recovered from the three, respectively. Travel operator Hariom Raghuvanshi had filed
a complaint with SPE alleging that he had given vehicles to the corporation on contract and some
employees were demanding kickbacks to release his outstanding dues, for more than three months. The
accused were charged under section 7, 13 (A) (B) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The corporation
hired the vehicle for vice-chairman of the corporation. (Times of India 7/5/14)
Anti-corruption bureau caught 508 errant officials in four months in Maharashtra (5)

MUMBAI: A deputy collector, a public works executive engineer, a senior police inspector, and a principal
of a leading college were among the 508 public servants trapped by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) in
375 graft cases in the first four months of 2014. Significantly, in the entire last year, the ACB had arrested
281 erring officials in 216 cases. According to ACB records, the highest number of erring officials caught
this year was from the state home department (87), followed by the revenue department (79), municipal
corporations (25), state electricity distribution company (16) and land records (11). More shocking was the
fact that a few senior police inspectors were caught taking bribes in police stations itself. Admitting that
the data was worrying, Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria said he was determined to end the
menace. "I had a meeting with all deputy, additional and joint police commissioners, and have drafted a
comprehensive action plan to take on the erring officials. The results will be visible in a time-bound
period," he said. "We have prepared a list of the erring officers. We will counsel them and take action
against them. But if there is no improvement, we ourselves will submit the list to the ACB for further
action." Maria said all deputy, additional and joint police commissioners have also been asked to
personally monitor sensitive cases, where there is scope for corruption. "In cases where an officer can
use his discretion on whether or not to arrest the accused, there is scope for corruption. We will monitor
all such cases," Maria said. An IPS official said that owing to the proactive role played by the ACB, led by
IPS officer Praveen Dixit, there was "alertness in all walks of life". "Social activists are knocking at the
doors of the ACB and the results are visible," he said. Additional chief secretary (revenue) Swadhin
Kshatriya said even the revenue department has drafted a strategy to curb corruption. "We have worked
out a action plan to provide a corruption-free administration," he said, adding that more emphasis is being
given on maximum utilization of information technology. "All services will be available online, as a result,
there will be less scope for corruption." Kshatriya said as there was scope for irregularities in land
records, they have been completely digitized. "We have simplified rules and set a time-bound disposal for
all pending revenue cases. We are set to bring e-governance at all levels." Food and Drug Administration
commissioner Mahesh Zagade said they have taken measures to reduce corruption at all levels. "Our
entire administration has been digitized and all services are available online. We are implementing all the
legislation in letter and spirit, as a result, there is less scope for lower-level officials to indulge in illegal
activities," he said, adding that if citizens stop giving bribes, corruption will automatically end. (Times of
India 13/5/14)
CBI forms SIT to probe Saradha group, 17 other firms (5)
Kolkata: The CBI formed a special investigation team (SIT) on Monday the last day of polling in the
2014 elections to probe the Saradha group and 17 other such companies for duping millions in Bengal,
Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and the northeastern states. To be led by the agencys joint director for the
northeast zone, Rajiv Singh, the team will have officers from various CBI departments in the states,
besides men from the agencys Delhi office and specialised units. On April 10, 2013 after his company
went bust, Saradha group boss Sudipta Sen wrote a letter to the CBI, detailing the involvement of some
Trinamool Congress top guns as well as relatives of some Congress leaders in the scam. As the scam
rocked Bengal and the neighbouring states, TMC chief and chief minister Mamata Banerjee set up a
commission under a retired judge, Shyamal Sen, to initiate the process of documenting the investors and
returning some money to the victims. Already more than 60 persons agents and depositors have
committed suicide since April last year. A source in the CBI, which received the top courts order on
Friday to take up the probe, told HT that since the `20,000-crore scam involved fraud, money laundering
and even hawala transactions, officers from specialised departments had to be roped in. The SIT will
soon start collecting documents from the special investigation team of the Bengal police as well as the
Enforcement Directorate, which are now probing the scam. It will also seek documents from the Serious
Fraud Investigation Office. The Bengal police SIT arrested several persons, including Saradha group
boss Sen, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh and others. ED, too, in its probe
interrogated and arrested a number of persons, including Sens wife and daughter. Since cases have

already been registered by the police on the basis of first information reports, the CBI will re-register the
cases before initiating the probe. But the agency will decide on the sections to be applied, changes in the
list of accused persons and incorporate any other changes that it feels necessary. (Hindustan Times
13/5/14)
CBI's Fresh Guidelines For Probe Against Joint Secretary and Higher Officers (5)
New Delhi: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday issued fresh guidelines for its officers,
asking them to take permission of the Additional Director or above before beginning investigation against
any joint secretary and higher ranked officers in the government. The direction comes in the wake of a
recent Supreme Court judgement which struck down the provision of seeking mandatory prior approval by
the CBI of the government to probe against officers of the rank of Joint Secretary and above. CBI Director
Ranjit Sinha, who had termed it as a landmark judgement, however, had a word of caution to its officers
and said "those found guilty of abusing their authority will be dealt with severely." Mr Sinha had said the
order had added more responsibilities on the CBI as a proper mechanism had to be put in place to ensure
that no innocent person is subjected to this provision. "We have strengthened our already existing
mechanism and due diligence will be done before questioning any senior officer," he had said. According
to the circular issued by the CBI, any inquiry against a joint secretary or above officer in the government
will have to be approved by a competent authority which would be either an Additional Director, a Special
Director or the Director of the CBI. It said that in case of a complaint in any CBI office against a Union
Minister, the same shall be forwarded to the Home Ministry promptly for further action and the relevant file
should remain in the personal custody of the head of the branch. No complaint against any such officer
will be handed over to a CBI officer below the rank of a Superintendent of Police, the guidelines said. The
Superintendent of Police should ensure that the departmental records are examined discreetly so that
secrecy of the verification is maintained and advised to consult the records informally by contacting the
concerned Vigilance Officers or the Head of the Department. During the course of verification of the
complaint, a written requisition for record should normally be avoided but wherever absolutely necessary,
such requisition must go under the signature of the Head of the Branch only and never of the Verification
Officer, failing which, the concerned unit heads would be held squarely responsible, the circular said.
"The period of three months, which is provided for completion of the verification of complaints, must be
strictly adhered to and all complaints that are time-barred should be individually examined by the head of
the zones and necessary direction be given in this regard," it said. While reiterating that adequate
precautions should be taken to ensure that motivated complaints or cases are not registered, the circular
warned that a trend was seen that complaints were received against an officer who is on the verge of
promotion. "It should be carefully scrutinised and finding out this fact should become part of the
verification" and unless the information is specific, it need not be entertained, it said. A five-judge
constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice R M Lodha, held as invalid and unconstitutional the provision
which makes it mandatory for prior approval of competent authority for the CBI to probe Joint Secretary
and above-ranked officials in corruption cases and said the protection has the propensity of shielding the
corrupt. The 6-A clause of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, which governs the CBI,
says no inquiry or probe can be conducted into any offence committed under the Prevention of Corruption
Act, 1988 except with the prior approval of the central government. This is applicable to central
government employees of the level of Joint Secretary and above and officers appointed by the Centre in
corporations established by or under any central Act, government companies, societies and local
authorities owned or controlled by that government. (NDTV 14/5/14)
34% of MPs in the 16th Lok Sabha have criminal charges against them (5)
New Delhi: Every third MP in the 16th Lok Sabha has criminal charges while 82% of the lawmakers have
assets worth Rs one crore or more, as per Association for Democratic Reforms' (ADR) analysis. Civil
society group ADR have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 541 out of 543 winners in the 2014 Lok

Sabha elections filed before the Election Commission. They found that 34% of the winning candidates are
faced with criminal charges. It was 30% in 2009 and 24% in 2004. "Out of the 541 winners analysed, 186
(34%) have declared criminal cases against themselves," ADR said in its detailed analysis BJP is leading
the chart with as many as 98 winning candidates (35%) out of total 282, are facing criminal charges.
While, 8 out of total 44 candidates of Congress are facing criminal charges. In AIADMK 6 out of 37
winners have been booked by police in some case or other. The percentage of candidates facing criminal
charges is highest in Shiv Sena as its 15 candidates out of the total 18 are booked in some case or other.
Trinamool Congress' 7 out of 34 winners are facing criminal charges. ADR in its analysis also found that
on an average four out of five candidates in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls have declared assets worth over
Rs 1 crore. "Out of the 541 winners analysed, 442 (82%) are crorepatis," the analysis pointed. In this
category also BJP is leading as 237 (84%) out of its 282 winners are crorepatis. In Congress, 35 (80%)
out of 44 winners are crorepatis. ADR also underlined that chances of candidates with criminal charges
were almost double as compared to clean candidates. "The chances of winning of a candidate with
criminal cases in the Lok Sabha 2014 elections are 13% while for a candidate with a clean record it is
5%," ADR said in its analysis. The ADR was established in 1999 by a group of professors from the Indian
Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. (DNA 18/5/14)
Mere collection of money doesnt amount to bribery: Madras HC (5)
CHENNAI: Holding that mere collection of money from people alone would not be enough to convict
public servants on charges of bribery, the Madras high court has acquitted a woman village administrative
officer who was sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment for taking Rs 200 for issuing a birth
certificate. While the complaint was that she sought this as bribe for issuing the certificate, S
Vijayalakshmi said while Rs 150 was collected as flag day charges Rs 50 was towards transport
expenses. Vijayalakshmi was VAO of Keelambi village in Kancheepuram district in June 1999 when the
incident occurred. In August 2008, chief judicial magistrate of Chengalpet found her guilty under
provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sentenced her to one-year imprisonment and slapped
a fine of Rs 5,000. Justice Aruna Jagadeesan, setting aside the order and acquitting Vijayalakshmi last
week, said: "It is settled principle of law that mere recovery of the tainted money is not sufficient to record
a conviction, unless there is evidence that bribe had been demanded or money was paid as a bribe. In
the absence of any evidence of demand and acceptance of the amount as illegal gratification, recovery
would not alone be a ground to convict the appellant." According to the prosecution, Vijayalakshmi
demanded Rs 200 for issuing birth certificate to one Priyanka who gave birth to a child in 1999. Priyanka's
father informed the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption personnel, who laid a trap for the VAO.
She was caught while receiving the money. Later, during trial, the complainant himself admitted that the
VAO had demanded the money towards flag day collection and transport expenses. Justice Jagadeesan
said: "I am of the considered opinion that the prosecution has failed in establishing the guilt of the
appellant beyond reasonable doubt that there was a demand and acceptance of illegal gratification.
Whereas, the accused has given a plausible and acceptable explanation and discharged the burden."
(Times of India 19/5/14)
South Asia is world's most corrupt region: Transparency International (5)
Kathmandu: South Asia is the world's most corrupt region and rampant corruption is preventing its people
from breaking the barrier of poverty despite the fact that the subcontinent has attained strong economic
growth over the past several years, a global anti-graft watchdog said here today. "South Asia now is the
worst region in the world when it comes to corruption based on our studies," said Srirak Pilpat, Asia
Pacific director at Transparency International (TI), while releasing a report titled 'Fighting Corruption in
South Asia: Building Accountability'. "How does a region with such strong economic growth still have such
high levels of poverty? It is corruption, which allows the few to profit without answering for their actions,"
said Pilpat. "As long as nobody brings the corrupt to justice, South Asia's leaders run the risk that future

growth only benefits the powerful, doing nothing to help the half billion South Asians, who still live in
poverty," he pointed out. Governments in corruption-stricken South Asia must allow anti-graft agencies to
investigate and prosecute corruption independently, TI said in the first comprehensive study on
transparency and corruption prevention in the region. The TI report analysed how well 70 national
institutions in Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka stop corruption. In South
Asian countries, government and people who want to expose and investigate corruption face legal
barriers, political opposition and harassment that allow bribery, secret dealings and the abuse of power to
go unchecked, the report warned. According to TI, Nepal improved from 139th position in 2012 to 116th in
2013 out of 177 countries surveyed in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) made public today. Despite
economic growth averaging 6 per cent a year over the past two decades in the sub-continent, 31 per cent
of people live on less than USD 1.25 a day, according to a World Bank report. "Corruption in public
bodies that should provide basic services to the poor means that economic growth is only enjoyed by the
few," points out the report. In Nepal, corruption in government organisations remained uncontrolled due to
political interference, the TI Nepal chapter said. "Governments will find transparency is the best
investment they will ever make. Ordinary people can ensure their communities are served by
governments, whistleblowers can save billions by exposing fraud," remarked Pilpat. According to the TI
report, 90 per cent of Nepalese believe that political parties are corrupt or extremely corrupt and 85 per
cent consider public officials and public servants to be corrupt or extremely corrupt. Interestingly, 72 per
cent believe that corruption in the country has increased over last two years. (Deccan Herald 21/5/14)
One week to notify black-money SIT (5)
New Delhi, May 23: The Supreme Court today gave the Centre a week to notify the three-member special
investigation team it had appointed to unearth the black money stashed by Indians in foreign accounts.
The vacation bench of Justices B.S. Chauhan and A.K. Sikri also asked the Centre to ensure that all files
and documents containing information on the black money accounts are kept under the custody of a
revenue department officer not below the rank of secretary. The bench passed the order after solicitorgeneral Mohan Parasaran urged the court to grant one more weeks time to notify the special
investigation team (SIT) as a new government was yet to assume charge. He said the draft notification
was ready with the outgoing government but since a new dispensation was taking over, the matter had
been left to it. Senior counsel Ram Jethmalani, the petitioner in the case, sought safe custody of the
documents in view of Mondays fire at Shastri Bhavan, which houses several government departments.
You have burnt Shastri Bhavan; dont burn North Block (which houses the finance ministry), the senior
counsel said in a lighter vein to Parasaran. Along with the banter, Jethmalani expressed fears that
documents relating to the black money case, said to be stored in Shastri Bhavan, may be destroyed
deliberately. He sought the courts intervention. Conceding his plea, the apex court asked the outgoing
UPA government to keep the documents in the custody of a senior revenue department officer. Last
month, the apex court had warned the Centre that failure to notify the SIT would amount to contempt. In
July 2011, the apex court had directed that an SIT be set up and notified but the Centre has not yet fully
complied with the order. Earlier in 2011, Jethmalani had filed a public interest litigation for an SIT to be
set up to probe allegations that black money amounting to Rs 70,000 crore was stashed in foreign banks
and, if this was found true, to take steps to bring it back to the country. On July 4, the then apex court
bench of Justices Sudarshan Reddy (now retired) and S.S. Nijjar had castigated the government for not
showing any seriousness in retrieving the money. Although the Centre opposed the formation of an SIT,
the bench rejected the plea and passed an order for its constitution. The SIT was set up with former
Supreme Court judge, Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, as its chairperson. It is yet to be notified. The volume
of alleged income-taxes owed to the country, as demanded by the Union of India itself, and the volume of
monies, by some accounts $8.04 billion, and some other accounts in excess of Rs 70,000 crore, are said
to have been routed through various bank accounts of Hassan Ali Khan and Tapurias. Further, from all
accounts it has been acknowledged that none of the named individuals has any known and lawful

sources for such huge quantities of monies, the apex court had said in 2011. All of these factors, either
individually or combined, ought to have immediately raised questions regarding the sources being
unlawful activities, national security, and transfer of funds into India for other illegal activities, including
acts against the State. It was only at the repeated insistence by us that such matters have equal, if not
even greater importance than issues of tax collection, has the Union of India belatedly concluded that
such aspects also ought to be investigated with thoroughness. It added: However, there is still no
evidence of a really serious investigation into these other matters from the national security perspective.
(The Telegraph 24/5/14)
New division in place to deal with Lokpal-related works (5)
New Delhi: A separate division - to be headed by a Director-level officer - has been formed by the
outgoing government to deal with all works related to the anti- corruption watchdog, Lokpal. Officials in
the Personnel Ministry, which acts as the nodal department to provide administrative support to the
Lokpal, said that the separate unit will help streamline the activities related to the working of the anticorruption body, including handling of RTI applications and appeals. The ministry has appointed Anil
Kumar V Patil as Director of the Lokpal Division recently, they said. The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act (also
known as Lokpal) provides for the establishment of a Lokpal for the Union and Lokayuktas for the states
to inquire into corruption charges against public functionaries. The Centre has already received
nominations from various individuals for becoming chairperson and members of these bodies. The
outgoing UPA government, however, could not appoint the chairperson and members of the much-touted
Lokpal, apparently due to objections raised by BJP leaders on the selection process for the same. The
UPA government had in February this year hurriedly formed an eight-member search committee which
was mandated to draw up a panel of persons for consideration by the Prime Minister-led Selection
Committee for appointment of chairperson and members of the Lokpal. Those who been selected for the
search panel included Justice (retd) KT Thomas (as chairperson) and seven members -- Kaki Madhava
Rao (former IAS officer), FS Nariman (legal luminary), Prof Meenakshi Gopinath (educationist), ML
Kumawat (former Director General of Border Security Force), HK Dua (senior journalist and Rajya Sabha
member), SY Quraishi (former Chief Election Commissioner) and Prof Mrinal Miri (Rajya Sabha member).
But, in a setback to the UPA government, Thomas and Nariman had refused to be part of the search
panel. (Zee News 25/5/14)
New Lok Sabha has four MPs facing corruption charges (5)
NEW DELHI: The 2014 polls were supposed to be a vote against corruption. However, they seem to have
been fought on the faceless perception of it than the ground reality. In fact, all the MPs facing charges
under Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) in the 16th Lok Sabha are from the BJP and its allies. An
analysis of the election affidavits of candidates of all major parties and their allies shows that both BJP
and Congress fielded three candidates each facing PCA cases. While all Congress candidates lost, all
BJP ones were embraced by voters. BJP fielded B S Yeddyurappa and B Sriramulu, both facing PCA
cases, from Karnataka with positive results. The third BJP candidate who won in this category was
Ganesh Singh from Madhya Pradesh. The three Congress candidates were Nitin Suresh Patil from
Maharashtra, N Dharam Singh from Karnataka and Lalit Mohan Suklabaidya from Assam. Similarly, BJP
ally PMK's candidate Anbumani Ramadoss facing corruption charges won his seat while two belonging to
DMK, 2G-tainted A Raja and N Pongalur Palanisamy, lost. DMK was until recently a Congress ally. The
2014 Lok Sabha has four MPs facing corruption charges and all belong to BJP and its allies. In the
outgoing Lok Sabha too there were four MPs facing PCA charges. Thus in terms of statistics, at least,
nothing has changed. Other parties which fielded candidates with PCA cases against them include
Trinamool Congress which had Bandhu Tirkey contesting from Jharkhand and Churchill Alemao
contesting from Goa. Badrudin Ajmal's AIUDF too fielded one such candidate, Paresh Baisya, from
Assam while Samjawadi Party fielded Kunjbihari Jugalkishor Agarwal from Maharashtra. Among the

major parties which did not field any candidate with PCA cases were AAP, BSP, BJD, AIADMK and TDP.
It must be mentioned, though, that PCA cases alone are no measure of the thrust a party has on anticorruption agenda or even the number of corrupt people it fields. For example, former Maharashtra CM
Ashok Chavan, charged by CBI in the Adarsh housing society scam, is not part of PCA list as
Maharashtra governor did not give the agency sanction to prosecute him under the Act. Socio-politics
scientists often argue that a variety of factors which include the advent of identity politics post-1990 along
with local issues ride over the large issue of corruption when voters decide to vote for a tainted candidate.
(Times of India 26/5/14)
SIT may not get to know to know source of black money stashed abroad (5)
NEW DELHI: Even if the Special Investigation Team under Justice MB Shah succeeds in tracking most of
Indian black money stashed away in tax havens, it may never be known how much of it is proceeds of
crime or if money is hidden in secret accounts abroad just because its owners don't want to pay taxes in
India. It would remain a challenge to figure out what part of the black money is generated from criminal
activities such as drug smuggling, arms deals, policy manipulations etc which have serious implications
for national security, beyond just financial integrity. However, there is one disturbing statistics that could
give an idea of the growing proportion of money generated through such criminal activities. Over 50
percent of the cases under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) since it was notified on July 1,
2005 were registered in just the last one year. Under this act that deals with proceeds of criminal
activities, the first conviction could be in the high profile scandal involving former Jharkhand chief minister
Madhu Koda and his cronies who swindled out hundreds of crores. And the second major conviction
could be in the 2G spectrum allocation scandal. Between April 2013 and March 2014 the Enforcement
Directorate registered 55 cases under PMLA. And in the ongoing financial year, ED could end up
registering over 90 money laundering cases. In the previous eight years (2005 to 2013) just 49 cases
were registered, and not one case has ended in conviction. One of the reasons for the sudden jump could
be better enforcement of PMLA, but what also cannot be ignored is the fact that many scandals have
emerged in recent times. And in most of these scandals, the ED has been able to track down the
proceeds of crime, which show the huge amount of kickbacks in each of the scandals. In most of these
cases while money laundering to distant tax havens is one of the activities, what is noticeable is the fact
that much of the bribes and kickbacks have been moved around in India itself. There are several tactics
used to move them around. Real estate is a key target of investment, while buying shares in private
companies at exaggerated share values and offering unsecured loans are among the ways to move
around black money or pay kickbacks. In sectors like real estate, black money is staggering, and a
significant portion of it could be proceeds of various crimes such as kickbacks. The SIT, to be headed by
Justice MB Shah, is tasked with duties of investigation, initiation of proceedings and prosecution in cases
of Hasan Ali and other matters involving unaccounted money, the cabinet statement had said. In Hasan
Ali case, investigations have found that documents showing $8 billion deposits by him were forged. The
SIT would serve its full purpose if it were to put sharper focus on the criminal aspect of black money,
especially in the Indian context. PMLA cases might be a good beginning to make. Times of India 30/5/14)
2G Case: Shahid Balwa Wants to Depose as Witness (5)
NEW DELHI: Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, one of the accused facing trial in the 2G
spectrum allocation case, Tuesday told the court that he wanted to depose as a witness in the case to
defend himself. Balwa's counsel Vijay Aggarwal told the special CBI court hearing the case that his client
wanted to depose as a witness in the case in which recording statements of defence witnesses will
commence July 1. Central Bureau of Investigation counsel K.K. Goel did not object, saying to depose as
witness to defend himself is Balwa's right. Balwa's counsel told the court that he wanted to bring six
witnesses in his defence and he would be one of them. "Defence is my right. They (CBI) have produced
153 witnesses and I am only seeking to summon five to six witnesses in my defence," said Aggarwal on

behalf of his client. Aggarwal added that co-accused, Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, directors of
Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd, were seeking permission to examine a total of five witnesses
only in their defence in the case. Regarding former telecom minister A. Raja's erstwhile private secretary
R.K. Chandolia, also an accused in the case, Aggarwal told the court that he was only summoning some
documents in his client's defence. Special CBI Judge O.P. Saini reserved the order for Wednesday on the
issue of calling defence witnesses and documents as sought by these accused. The court had earlier
allowed Raja's plea seeking to depose as a witness to defend himself in the trial. The court had on Oct
22, 2011 framed charges against 14 accused and three companies under various provisions of the Indian
Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act dealing with offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating,
forgery, faking documents, abusing official position, criminal misconduct by public servant and taking
bribe. All the accused are out on bail. (New Indian Express 3/6/14)
CBI launches helpline against officials demanding bribe (5)
Bhopal: To keep a tab on corruption in government offices, CBI unit here has started a "citizen helpline"
where people can call and register their complaints against officials demanding bribe. The agency has
provided a mobile phone number and an email ID through which such complaints can be made, a
statement from the CBI office here said. People can also file their complaints through a mail addressed to
Superintendent of Police posted here. "Complaints against corruption and bribe related demands, can be
lodged to email hobacbpl.Cbi.Gov.In or contact cell number 09425600070. Citizens can also write to
Superintendent of Police, CBI, Anveshan Parisar, Char Imli, Bhopal," a CBI statement said. (Zee News
5/6/14)
Sub-Registrar Held in Rs 30-Cr Wadiyar Land Grab Case (5)
MYSORE: In a major breakthrough in `30-crore Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyars property grabbing
case, Lokayukta police have registered a case against more than eight people, including the SubRegistrar, District Registrar of Stamps and Registration and two real estate agents. Four among them,
arrested by the Lokayukta police led by Lokayukta SP S M Jagadish Prasad, were produced before the
Lokayukta Court on Thursday. The arrested were B K Sundar, son of Kunjappa Poojary (65) of Sulagalale
village in Shanivarasanthe of Somwarapet taluk in Kodagu district, Girish, Sub-Registrar, Mysore East,
real estate agents R Mahadev, son of T Raju of Janatha Layout in J P Nagar II Phase and Ravikumar,
son of Lakshman of Ramakrishna Nagar E and F Block. All the accused have been booked under
different sections of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 463-568, 473, 473, 474, 420 and 109
read with 120 (B) of IPC, according to the first information report. According to Lokayukta police, the gift
deed was registered by the Sub-Registrar Girish to help Sundar to grab the Wadiyars property. Initially,
both Girish and District Registrar and Deputy Commissioner of Stamps L G Hamsaveni clarified that the
gift deed given on October 10, 1961 by erstwhile Mysore Maharaja has no legal sanctity. Later, they
accepted it to help the criminals who hatched conspiracy to grab the property. Finally, they helped the
main accused Sundar to pay registration fee and registered the property on January 27, 2014. Girish and
Hamsaveni were booked for misuse of power, fabricating of documents and connived with the private
parties. Sundar has been accused of fabricating the gift deed dated October 10, 1961 to claim 200x250 ft
land, about 50,000 sq ft, Survey No 1 in Maharajas Estate Office as his own and submitted to the
Registrars office. Based on this, Girish registered the deed illegally by creating the documents saying
that he himself took the signature, left thumb impression of late royal scion Srikantadatta Narasimharaja
Wadiyar at Mysore Race Club in Mysore on January 7, 2014 for confirmation deed. R Mahadev, a real
estate agent, is allegedly involved in the deal by paying a registration fee of Rs 47.59 lakh in the name of
Sundar. One more real estate agent Ravikumar has also paid `8.50 lakh in the name of Sundar, the
police said. (New Indian Express 6/6/14)
CBI wants to examine former Army chief General V K Singh (5)

NEW DELHI: Amid growing speculation that CBI may close its probe into allegations of bribery offer to
former Army chief General V K Singh, the agency recently asked the newly-appointed minister to join
investigations as it wanted some clarifications. The first-time MP and minister of state wrote to CBI's that
"he won't be able to join investigations right now" as he was busy with the Parliament session. Agency
officials said they wanted some clarifications from the former Army chief on his allegations against Lt Gen
(Retd) Tejinder Singh and evidence provided by him. The audio recording CD, notes from personal diary
and RD (record of discussion) of ministry of defence are being examined by CBI and it is planning to soon
finalize the investigations. A request to V K Singh to join investigations was reportedly made by CBI
during the Lok Sabha elections to which he replied recently. V K Singh's lawyer Vishwajeet Singh, when
contacted, told TOI, "CBI has been informed that our client will join later since Parliament session is going
on." CBI, however, is not very happy with V K Singh's reply as its investigations are pending. The case
has been dragging for more than two years now. Earlier, CBI officials had claimed that there is not
enough prosecutable evidence in the case and it might be closed as well. It recently decided to conduct
fresh forensic analysis on the audio CD provided by V K Singh as the previous examination did not reveal
much. CBI had registered a case on October 19, 2012 after carrying out preliminary enquiry for nearly six
months. Tejinder Singh was named by the CBI as an accused under Prevention of Corruption Act, as
charges were levelled against him by V K Singh in his complaint. V K Singh had alleged that Lt Gen
(retired) Tejinder Singh had offered him Rs 14 crore to clear the tranche of 1676 high mobility Tatra
vehicles in the Indian Army. Tejinder Singh had met V K Singh at latter's office on September 22, 2010.
Tejinder had denied all charges levelled against him and also filed a defamation case against the former
chief. (Times of India 7/6/14)
Goa illegal mining scam: Enforcement Directorate registers ECIR (5)
Panaji: The Directorate of Enforcement, Goa registered an Enforcement Case Investigation Report
(ECIR) on Monday under Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 in respect of the illegal mining case
in Goa and commenced investigation in the illegal mining scam under the provisions of PML Act, 2002. A
senior official of the Directorate of Enforcement in Panaji told The Hindu on Tuesday that the case has
been registered against official of the State Mining Department including ex-Director, a draftsman and
others in respect of the scheduled offences of Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Prevention of Corruption Act,
1988 in Rs. 35,000-crore illegal mining case against government officials, mining companies and entities
identified and mentioned in the report of Central Empowered Committee appointed by the Supreme
Court, Justice M.B.Shah Commission report and report of the Public Accounts Committee of Goa. The
CEC appointed by the Supreme Court in its report had observed that in there was no system of periodic
verification of the iron ore produced in the mining leases, payment of royalty after verification, issue of
transit permits by the forest department, issue of permits by the State Mining department for
transportation, etc., in Goa and hence illegal mining took place outside the mining leased area and the
same was conveniently shown to have been done legally in the leased area. A number of environmental
clearances for the status of the land was mentioned as non-forest whereas the leased area comprised
partly/wholly of forest land. All the above facts are of serious nature having financial implications and loss
to the exchequer in crores of rupees. The manufacture and fabrication of documents and using such
documents for fraudulent purpose by active support of the government officials has caused a huge loss to
the state exchequer, the complaint had noted. Mr. Pravin Pawar, Joint Director, Enforcement said on
Tuesday that the documents and other related records are being collected from various agencies and its
examination is under way. Summons will be issued shortly to various government officials, mining
company directors and to those involved in the process of illegal mining activities, he said. (The Hindu
10/6/14)
'Make Anti-corruption a Curriculum Subject' (5)

COIMBATORE: The University Grants Commission has asked universities to include anti-corruption as a
subject in the academic curriculum, which was welcomed by anti-corruption movements. The
government of India is actively participating in the activities of International Anti-Corruption Academy to
strengthen participation and to combat corruption in every form. The Department of Higher Education
under the Ministry of Human Resource Development has considered the inclusion of the subject anticorruption in the curriculum, and research work in this field in the higher educational institutes, UGC said
in a recent circular to Vice-Chancellors of all universities in the country. The UGC has requested the
universities to consider inclusion of anti-corruption in the curriculum of relevant subjects like law, public
administration, human rights and convey relevant instructions to all the stakeholders concerned for
recognition of this curriculum. Welcoming this, Coimbatore unit secretary of the anti-corruption movement
NK Velu said including anti-corruption as a subject in curriculum is a very good proposal. Corruption has
become part and parcel of the Indians life. This needs to be changed on a war footing, he said. (New
Indian Express 13/6/14)
LTC Scam: CBI books Rajya Sabha MPs for cheating and forgery (5)
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked three sitting and three former Rajya
Sabha MPs for cheating and forgery in Leave Ticket Concession (LTC) scam they availed full fare
reimbursements using fake tickets. The central probe agency filed FIRs, Friday, against sitting MPs D
Bandopadhyay (TMC), Brijesh Pathak (BSP) and Lalhming Liana (MPF) and former MPs JPN Singh
(BJP), Renu Bala (BJD) and Mehmood Arshad Madani (RLD). This is the first case registered by the CBI
in the scam. Searches are being conducted at 10 locations, which include the houses, office premises of
the MPs and also at the offices of travel agencies in Delhi and Odisha. The agency has registered a case
of cheating and forgery among other charges under Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant provisions of
the Prevention of Corruption Act. The MPs are alleged to have purchased return air e-tickets in
connivance with tour operators. They allegedly used online service to get boarding passes using web
check-in facility and just before boarding time, these boarding passes and tickets were allegedly
cancelled to pocket the refund money. Later the e-tickets and boarding passes, which were earlier issued,
were allegedly submitted to the Rajya Sabha secretariat to claim the travel expenses by the MP. The
incident came to light after the vigilance department of Air India (AI) was alerted about the arrest of a man
in March at the Kolkata airport with 600 blank boarding passes of the airline in his possession. (Zee News
13/6/14)
Irrigation scam: ATR blames officials (5)
MUMBAI: Even as it tabled in the Maharashtra Assembly the report of the Chitale Committee, which
probed the multicrore irrigation scam, the Congress-NCP government gave a clean chit to politicians in its
Action Taken Report (ATR). The ATR made no mention of politicians, including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit
Pawar, who was Irrigation Minister between 1999 and 2009. He belongs to the Nationalist Congress
Party. The probe was initiated in 2012 after allegations of major irregularities in irrigation projects. The
outcry led to Mr. Pawars resignation as Deputy Chief Minister. However, he was reappointed three
months later. The Chitale report itself lays the bulk of the blame on officers rather than politicians. It points
out that investigating several irregularities were outside its terms of reference. The report has only one
line which points to the role of Mr. Pawar, though it does not name him. It says that in some cases of cost
escalation, a revised approval for more funds was given in violation of rules. It was sanctioned despite
being brought to the notice of the Governing Council. In such cases the responsibility lies with the
members and the president of the Governing Council, the report says. As Irrigation Minister during the
period, Mr. Pawar headed the Governing Council. While the report has asked the government to decide
on the possible action, the ATR claims that the Governing Council had the power to sanction extra money
till August 2009. The Opposition called the ATR eyewash to protect politicians. We hope the government
initiates criminal proceedings against those criticised in the report. Otherwise, we will consider going to

court, said State BJP president Devendra Fadnavis. The report has pointed out major irregularities by
project officers while granting Administrative Approvals (AA) for projects. In several cases, the AA was
granted without finalising the design of the project, it says. (The Hindu 15/6/14)
Anti-corruption bureau lodges FIR against Karjat tehsildar (5)
NAVI MUMBAI: The anti-corruption bureau (ACB) today lodged an FIR at the Karjat police station against
the suspended Karjat tehsildar Yuvraj Bangar, for having disproportionate assets of over Rs 58.28 lakh.
Bangar was arrested by ACB last October for taking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a quarry owner in Karjat in
order to legitimize certain mining operations in the area. He was suspended and an ACB inquiry was
initiated against him. On Thursday, the ACB formally lodged the FIR following the completion of the
inquiry against the tainted tehsildar. Further police investigation is on. (Times of India 19/6/14)
Black money: Swiss drawing up list of Indians (5)
New Delhi: Switzerland has prepared a list of Indians suspected to have stashed black money in Swiss
banks and the details are being shared with the Indian government, according to a senior Swiss
government official. The names of these Indian individuals and entities have come under scanner of the
Swiss authorities during an ongoing exercise to identify real beneficiary owners of funds held in various
banks operating in Switzerland, the official said. These individuals and entities are suspected to have
held un-taxed money in Swiss banks through structures like trusts, domiciliary companies and other legal
entities based out of countries other than India, the official, who did not want to be named, told PTI. He
refused to divulge the identities of these persons and entities, as also the amount of money they had in
banks, citing confidentiality clause of the information exchange treaty between the two countries. The
official said Swiss authorities were very keen to work with the new government in India and they would
also provide all necessary support to the newly set up Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money.
He, however, dismissed claims that black money stashed in Swiss banks by Indians could be trillions of
dollars, as the latest Swiss National Bank data pegs the total foreign client money across 283 banks in
Switzerland at US $1.6 trillion. When asked about rise in Indian exposure to Swiss banks at 2.03 billion
Swiss francs (Rs 14,000 crore), he said these are the funds held by clients who have declared
themselves as Indian and therefore were unlikely to be ill-gotten wealth. The senior official further said the
details are being shared with India on a spontaneous basis and are different from the information sought
earlier by the Indian authorities on the basis of leaked or stolen lists of certain banks, including the socalled HSBC list. The Swiss government has been refusing to share details about the Indians named in
this HSBC list, which was stolen by a bank employee and later found its way to tax authorities in various
countries, including India. Despite repeated requests from India, Switzerland has said its local laws
prohibit administrative assistance in matters where information has been sourced illegally, including
through stolen lists. The said HSBC list allegedly contains names of Indians and other foreign nationals
having black money in the Swiss unit of the global banking major. India is one of the 36 countries with
which Switzerland has signed treaties to provide administrative assistance in tax matters in accordance
with international (Indian Express 23/6/14)
Road to corruption: Centre loses Rs 1.25 crore (5)
INDORE: Thriving builder-government official nexus has inflicted a loss of over Rs 1.25 crore to the
Central government in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh. The fraud has been detected in construction of
6.8km road connecting Pipri and Nimanpur villages in Bagli tehsil of Dewas district, under Pradhan Mantri
Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) -ambitious scheme of erstwhile Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government.
The fraud detected by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) while investigating a 2010 complaint dates
back to development of road under the centrally sponsored scheme in 2002-2006. EOW of Madhya
Pradesh police is readying to lodge a case of fraud, criminal conspiracy and corruption against a premier
Indore-based builder and nine officials of MP Rural Road Development Authority (MPRRDA) posted in

Dewas between 2002 and 2006. The Indore-based builder group was given the contract to construct the
road in 2002 with the rider that work would be completed in two years and the road was expected to be
defect-free till five years from the date of completion. Not only did the builder violate terms and conditions
of the contract by completing the road in three years, even the newly-built road lasted for just over an
year. A subsequent analysis of samples of the worn out road by the National Quality Monitoring team of
PMGSY established that the builder had used retrograde material for construction. Not only was
substandard material used to build the road, but flouting related norms, the builder even managed to get
Rs 44.02 lakh from government agencies for maintaining the road, besides the Rs 89.94 lakh already
sanctioned to him as the contract amount. With the road lasting for just over a year, new tenders were
invited by the government agencies to construct the same road again in 2007 for a price of Rs 81.31 lakh,
ultimately causing the Central government a loss of over Rs 1.25 crore (re-tender price of Rs 81.31 lakh
and Rs 44.02 lakh as maintenance sum). A subsequent EOW probe into the irregularities in 2010 found
that had officials of MPRRDA physically verified and regularly monitored the road construction work, the
loss of public funds would have been checked, EOW sources told TOI on Tuesday. Based on the findings
of the probe, the EOW-Indore recently sought sanction from its headquarters in Bhopal to book 10
people, including the builder and MPRRDA-Dewas officials, including managing director, assistant
manager, assistant engineer and sub-engineer level. Once given the clearance from Bhopal, 10 people
will be booked under Sections 420, 120B of IPC, besides provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act,
1988. (Times of India 26/6/14)
Six anti-corruption bureau teams raid King George Hospital (5)
VISAKHAPATNAM: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) teams raided the King George Hospital (KGH) on
Tuesday and verified all the records, including those of the blood bank and medical stores. Around six
teams headed by circle inspector rank officers and monitored by DSP M Narasimha Rao carried out the
raids. They enquired about the services to the patients, sanitation in the wards, attendance of the staff
among other things. Interacting with some of the attendants of patients, they sought to know if any
doctors and staff were demanding bribes for conducting tests and treatment. The ACB sleuths also
examined the security measures in place at the hospital as well as other aspects as there have been
allegations of corruption against staff members, including doctors, as well as recent incidents of newborns
going missing from wards and allegations of patient deaths due to negligence of staff. According to
sources, the ACB sleuths found irregularities and lapses in the system in every wing of the hospital. The
raids at KGH were part of statewide raids carried out on various government hospitals at Hyderabad,
Nellore, Tirupati, Eluru and Vijayawada, the ACB DSP Narasimha Rao said. (Times of India 2/7/14)
Coal block scam: ED attaches assets (5)
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday attached assets worth Rs.24.5 crore belonging to
a company owned by Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda, in the coal block allocation case. According to the
ED, AMR Iron & Steel director Manoj Jayaswal had paid Rs.24.6 crore to Asera Banka Power (ABP),
owned by Mr. Vijay Darda and his son Devendra Darda, for exercising personal influence in facilitating
allocation of the Bander coal block in Maharashtra. The attached assets include shares of JAS
Infrastructure & Power Limited (owned by Mr. Jayaswal) and Rs.33.78 lakh in fixed deposits held by ABP.
The amount, allegedly routed to ABP through Kolkata-based companies, was utilised to purchase shares
of JAS. The company also allegedly concealed the fact that its group companies had earlier been
allocated coal blocks. (The Hindu 2/7/14)
Maharashtra arrested 810 corrupt babus (5)
Mumbai: Maharashtra tops the list in the number of government officials arrested for graft under anticorruption laws and for other crimes under relevant sections of the IPC concerned with civil servants in
2013. The state has seen the arrest of 810 government officials, with 712 of the accused being

chargesheeted in trial courts. The data, however, does not specify the number of corruption cases and
IPC charges. While cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, done by the state anti-corruption
bureau (ACB), clearly pertain to accepting bribes, cases under the IPC include sections like Section 409
(criminal breach of trust by a public servant). In Maharashtra, a total of 4,339 such persons were under
trial with seven cases withdrawn or disposed off by the courts. The trials of 800 such cases were
completed with 120 convictions and 680 acquittals. The NCRB data also lists the number of civil servants
reported for departmental actions/inquiries with 10 such cases where, surprisingly, no dismissals took
place, with only one case being meted major punishment. Major punishment in these cases include
either censuring by senior officers or punitive measures such as temporary suspension of salary. This
comes after the preliminary enquiry when the departmental inquiry begins, that is conducted by a senior
officer, heading another department in the commissionerate, explained an IPS officer. When asked about
the measures for ensuring higher convictions in corruption cases, state ACB chief, director general P.N.
Dixit said that the number of anti-corruption courts have to be increased which will automatically ensure a
higher convictions. The trials in anti-corruption cases take place after prolonged periods with some of our
own cases, done in the 1990s, which are still in the trial phase. The state government must increase the
number of special courts for this purpose, Mr Dixit said. IPS officer-turned-lawyer Y.P. Singh said the
ACB should ensure better gathering of evidence to guarantee convictions, which according to him is a
major cause behind corruption case accused going scot-free. (Asian Age 4/7/14)
Give more freedom to vigilance wing: Officers (5)
LUCKNOW: On the occasion of golden jubilee celebrations of the Vigilance Establishment of the UP
Police, senior IPS officers advocated the state government give more freedom to vigilance department to
punish the corrupt. Most of the speakers including director general of police A L Bannerji who also holds
additional charge of director Vigilance spoke about fighting against corruption. Principal secretary Home
Rakesh Bahadur was special guest of the function organised at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan. Chief
minister Akhilesh Yadav could not turn up and was represented at the function by Health minister
Mohammad Azam Khan, who said there would be no compromise on fight against corruption and his
government has given permission to the CBI to punish 72 officials facing charges in NRHM and other
cases. Write-ups by senior officers in a magazine published to mark the occasion drew attention of
participants as the articles pleaded strongly for actual freedom to officers to investigate corruption cases
and punish the powerful. "At the state level, anti- corruption mechanism needs to be more effective.
Vigilance establishment, the anti-corruption organisation and crime branch of the CID need to be more
effective instruments against corruption. State governments must cleanse the Augean stables of
corruption, or else the electorate would not spare them," warns the article penned by former DGP of UP,
Assam and DG BSP, Prakash Singh who is fighting in the court for the police reforms. Mahesh Chand
Diwedi another retired DGP questioned lack of freedom in functioning as it was mandatory to seek
permission from government at every level to start inquiry. Most of the officers agreed that dozens of
cases of corruption were pending in government. Earlier, a new logo of the Vigilance was unveiled.
(Times of India 7/7/14)

Governor can't be tried in criminal case: Sheila to HC (5)

NEW DELHI: Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday sought quashing of the trial court
order to lodge FIR against her in a graft case, contending in the Delhi high court that such proceedings
cannot be continued against a governor. Advocate M Pracha, appearing for Dikshit, said as per Article
361(2) of the Constitution there is a bar on criminal proceedings against a governor. Dikshit is currently
the governor of Kerala and as per Article 361 (2) of the Constitution "no criminal proceedings whatsoever
shall be instituted or continued against the President, or the governor of a state, in any court during his
term of office".A bench of Justice Sunil Gaur, however, adjourned the matter to July 23 as the advocate

for the complainant, BJP leader Vijender Gupta, was not present owing to some illness. Gupta had filed a
complaint alleging that Dikshit's administration misused public funds to the tune of Rs 22.56 crore in an
advertisement campaign ahead of the 2008 assembly polls and the trial court had ordered lodging of an
FIR against her. Thereafter, the then Delhi government had moved the high court against the trial court
order which was stayed. AAP government had said Dikshit will have to defend herself as she is no more
the CM and the government lacked the "locus standi" to fight for her. Then in February 2014, the Arvind
Kejriwal government had moved the high court seeking to take back the appeal filed by then Congress
government headed by Dikshit. Dikshit had then moved the high court opposing the plea of the Kejriwal
government and had also sought her impleadment in the matter. Thereafter, on February 26, the high
court had said that Dikshit will have to defend herself in the graft case. A special judge had on August 31,
last year, ordered registration of FIR against Dikshit and others for offences including criminal breach of
trust (section 409 IPC), criminal misappropriation of public funds and criminal misconduct under
provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The order had come on separate complaints filed by Gupta
and RTI activist Vivek Garg against her. Both of them had in their complaints alleged that Dikshit misused
government funds in an advertisement campaign ahead of the 2008 assembly polls. (Times of India
9/7/14)
NREGA scam in Kalahandi: Wages paid for planting of trees that do not exist (5)
Mumbai: The NDA government has leased a new life into the flagship programme of the last UPA
government, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) which provides
100 days of work to rural workers who wish to claim it. It is difficult to oppose the Act in principle. In a
country where right to life is an inviolable fundamental right for the people, many would argue that right to
food and work would also be inviolable. But there has been much protests against the Act as well. While
some including Rajastha chief minister Vasundhara Raje want it to be made into a scheme and not a law,
there are few who complain the wages have been spiraling due to the Act. However, the biggest issue in
the implementation of the Act has been the corruption charges, the latest added to that list being
Kalahandi district in Orissa. Zee News reported that recently the funds to plant trees under the NREGA
scheme in Kalahandi were siphoned by few officials as the the trees were never planted. Though on
papers, money has been paid to workers under the scheme for planting trees, in reality, physically no
trees exist. This is also not the first instance of such scam in Orissa. In 2007, a group of researchers led
by well known economists Jean Dreze and Ritika Khera found muster rolls that had fake finger prints of
fake labourers. The survey was being carried out in the districts of Kalahandi, Bolangir and Boudh. The
panchayat executive officer was suspended and enquiry ordered. The Supreme Court while hearing a
civil writ petition had even asked why it should not call for SBI probe in a scam that was pegged at Rs 500
crore. A second survey in 2011 showed that in Orissa and UP, 67 percent of the poorest Dalit and tribal
households did not get even a day's work in the past one year. SImilarly, more than a third of them did not
even have access to the public distribution system. The latest Economic Survey by the finance ministry
also called for an overhaul of the system. It says, "Though the act is panchayat-centric and demand
based, on the ground there is lack of principal role in planning, execution and monitoring by the
panchayati raj institutions (PRI's) especially the gram sabha". Also the wages are in some places lower
than market wages, which means mainly women come to take up jobs. The corruption in implementing a
social sector scheme is its biggest evil. On the one hand, if people who need it the most are not getting
access to the government schemes, the argument of the rise in rural wages because of the scheme can
be challenged. On the other hand, any modification of the scheme to make it more targeted and remove
pilferage will be difficult. Those who need to implement the change are the ones who benefit the most
from the current system. NREGA is not just a subsidy scheme from the government unlike say, the midday meal scheme, because the state does not assume just a patronising role here. People are actually
working to earn their wages. The government must work towards making the scheme efficient because
both the state and the rural poor need it. The state sets a minimum wage and gets workers to work

towards asset creating, while the poor have access to jobs with humane wages during the lean season or
otherwise. The new government has followed the UPA path in terms of allocation of funds. But it must
take a completely different route to make this work. (DNA 11/7/14)
Lokayukta police get govt nod to prosecute BDA secretary (5)
Bangalore: Days after the Chief Minister assured swift sanction for prosecution and suspension of officials
facing charges of corruption, Lokayukta police received permission to prosecute Bangalore Development
Authority (BDA) secretary A Rajamma Chowdareddy. Rajamma was arrested while allegedly accepting a
bribe of Rs seven lakh at her office on April 25. The official had allegedly demanded bribe to process the
files pertaining to allotment of four sites as compensation to Parvathamma and Nagendra, both residents
of Vadagerahalli near Sahakaranagar. Rajamma allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 10 lakh and later
scaled it down to Rs seven lakh. The Lokayukta police had completed the investigation pertaining to the
trap and sent the request for Prosecution Sanction Order (PSO) in last week of June. During the search
after the trap, the Lokayukta police had seized Rs 2.3 lakh in cash from Rajamma's office cupboard. The
next day, Rs 44 lakh in cash and jewellery worth Rs 35 lakh were seized from her house in Koramangala.
The police had registered a case of disproportionate assets against Rajamma. The sanction to prosecute
Rajamma was given on Friday and the charge sheet will be filed by Monday or Tuesday. The
investigation pertaining to the disproportionate assets case is on, an official said. Prompted by the chief
minister's statement in the Assembly, the Lokayukta police have decided to forward a fresh list of cases
seeking sanction for prosecution. In eight cases respective department heads have not suspended
officials raided for disproportionate assets. This apart, PSOs are also pending with various departments in
connection with 90 officials. The communication will be sent to the government soon,'' the official said.
Meanwhile, the government also placed BDA Additional Land Acquisition Officer G R Harishilpa under
suspension. During a surprise check on June 20, Lokayukta officials had found Rs 1.69 lakh cash in
possession of Harishilpa. The surprise check was conducted after Lokayukta police had received several
complaints about touts demanding money on behalf of the officials. Lokayukta police had arrested seven
persons, including agents. Surveyor M M Gangadhar, JE Hirannaiah and record room in-charge Srinivas
were among those arrested during the raid. (Deccan Herald 12/7/14)
CBI files charge sheet against Lt. Gen. Tejinder Singh in Tatra case (5)
New Delhi: The CBI on Tuesday filed its charge sheet against Lt. Gen. (retd.) Tejinder Singh for allegedly
offering a bribe of Rs. 14 crore to the then Army Chief V.K. Singh, who is now a Union Minister, in
connection with the Tatra truck deal. The charge sheet filed under section 12 of Prevention of Corruption
Act named the retired Lieutenant General for having allegedly offered the bribe on behalf of Tatra trucks
suppliers who provided the all terrain vehicles to the Indian Army. The section 12 of the Act deals with the
offence of offering bribe to a public servant. CBI sources said the charge sheet was based purely on
circumstantial evidence which includes Lt. Gen. Tejinder Singhs meeting with the then Army Chief and
putting on hold the order for supply of trucks from Tatra. Expressing surprise over the move, Lt. Gen.
Tejinder Singh said in 2013 there were dozens of media reports which stated that no evidence was found
in the case and that it was heading for a closure. These media reports were obviously based from
information from the CBI, he claimed. My interaction with the agency clearly indicated that there was no
credible evidence found. Now with the change of government, there seems to be a change of heart in the
probe agency and therefore the filing of charge sheet is abuse of power by the people concerned and
politically motivated, Lt. Gen. Tejinder Singh told PTI in his reaction to the CBI charge sheet. A case was
registered against Lt. Gen. Tejinder Singh on October 19, 2012 following a complaint by Gen. V.K. Singh,
who is at present Minister of State of External Affairs and Minister of State in charge of the Department of
Northeast Region. The then Army Chief had alleged that Lt. Gen. Tejinder Singh had offered him a bribe
of Rs. 14 crore on September 22, 2010 on behalf of Tatra truck supplier for clearing file for procurement
of 1,676 Tatra HMVs (High Mobility Vehicles) for the Indian Army. The CBI during its probe also recorded

the statement of the then Defence Minister A.K. Antony who corroborated that the Army Chief had come
to his office and informed him that Lt. Gen. Tejinder Singh had made a bribe offer. As a corroborative
evidence in its charge sheet, the CBI has mentioned the orders of the then Army Chief to his staff that Lt.
Gen. Tejinder Singh should not be given any appointment in future, the sources said. (The Hindu 15/7/14)
CWG-like scam in Lusofonia Games: Congress seeks CBI probe (5)
Panaji: The Congress Sunday alleged a Delhi Commonwealth Games-style scam and demanded a CBI
probe into corruption in the organisation of the Portuguese Commonwealth Games, also known as the
Lusofonia Games, in Goa. The state hosted the Games in 2014. Addressing a press conference here,
Congress spokesman Durgadas Kamat said the pricing of the Games' medals, grand opening and closing
ceremonies, hiring of taxis, as well as laying out infrastructure for the third Lusfonia Games was
excessive, and suggested that the scam was worth Rs.100 crore approximately. "Three quotations from
companies in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore for Games' medals for Rs.500, Rs.400 and Rs.600
(respectively) were turned down and instead the government paid Rs.6,500 for each medal," Kamat said.
The firm which won the medal tender was the India Government Mint in Alipore, West Bengal, run by the
central government. Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar has called the allegations "baseless" and made
by a party which is frustrated being in Opposition. "All procedures and protocols were followed by us
during the tendering processes. The Congress is frustrated. They are not used to being in the Opposition
and are making baseless charges," he said. Incidentally, defective medals had triggered controversy
during the Games, with several winning athletes having to return their medals which had lost their lustre
immediately after they were presented. The 12-day Lusofonia Games featured countries and places like
Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea- Bissau, Goa (India), Macau (China),
Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and Sri Lanka. Athletes competed in nine sporting
disciplines -- Athletics, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Football, Judo, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Volleyball
and Wushu. Goa was one of the earliest Portuguese colonies in Asia and was colonised in the early
1500s. The Lusofonia Games 2014 were the third edition of the Portuguese Commonwealth Games. The
first two were held in Macau (China) 2006 and in Lisbon in 2009. Kamat also said that the government
overspent on the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Lusofonia Games alleging that the Rs.22 crore
spent on the two event nights was highly inflated and money had changed hands in the organization of
the event. "We estimate that about Rs.7 crore was the maximum one could spend on the event and have
the best of celebration," Kamat said. The allegations come a couple of days before the monsoon session
of the Goa legislative assembly starts July 22. Kamat also said information sourced via the Right To
Information Act had revealed irregularities in the raising of infrastructure worth several hundred crore for
the event like indoor and outdoor stadia and track and field gear. "We are going to the Central Bureau of
Investigation with our complaint, because we have no faith in the state police," Kamat said. (Business
Standard 20/7/14)
Opposition alleges foul play in Kudumbashree projects (5)
KOZHIKODE: Opposition councillors in the Kozhikode corporation met minister for social justice and
panchayats, M K Muneer, demanding vigilance inquiry into various schemes implemented by the
Kudumbashree office under the corporation. A delegation led by opposition leader in the corporation
council, M T Padma, met the minister the other day and urged him to recommend a vigilance inquiry into
the implementation of e-shops set up at various locations in the city. UDF members in the corporation
council had leveled allegations about irregularities in executing various projects of the Kudumbashree,
comprising e-shops, dress bank and Food on Wheels project. They alleged corruption in setting up the
specially-designed vehicles for e-shops saying for that the civic body had claimed to have spent Rs 3,
63,914 for it, but it actually costs only Rs 50,000. The opposition also alleged that e-shops were set up in
the corporation limit to sell products of multi-national brands and not those made by Kudumbashree
members. Though the LDF denied the charges as baseless, UDF councillors in the corporation have

stuck to their version and decided to approach the minister to pressurize the government to initiate an
inquiry into the matter. Opposition leader M T Padma said a delegation had met minister M K Muneer on
Saturday to urge the government institute a vigilance inquiry into the works of the Kudumbashree office
including political involvement in the appointment of 100 sanitation workers. The opposition opined that
the ruling party had only selected candidates belonging to their party. "We have met the minister and
urged him to take steps to conduct a detailed vigilance inquiry. The minister has promised to look into the
matter and take necessary action," said the opposition leader. "The opposition will take a decision about
the future course of action on the basis of the minister's reply," said Padma. K P Vijayakumar, convener
of the Campaign Committee against Corruption said irregularities in the execution of schemes are not
new to the civic body. "The state government should direct the concerned authorities to conduct a
detailed vigilance inquiry into all projects of the civic body including Kudumbashree schemes," he said.
Meanwhile, mayor A K Premajam said the civic body has executed the project in a transparent manner
and with the knowledge of the opposition. "The opposition's allegation is merely a poll gimmick ahead of
elections to the local self-government bodies in 2015. We have nothing to hide and have done everything
in a transparent manner," she said. (Times of India 21/7/14)
Uproar in Parliament over Justice Markandey Katju's charge of corruption in judiciary (5)
NEW DELHI: AIADMK on Monday forced adjournment of the Rajya Sabha twice during Question Hour
over former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju's reported allegation that political pressure during the
previous UPA regime had led to elevation of a judge despite charges of corruption against him. Ruckus
created by AIADMK members seeking suspension of Question Hour to discuss the issue of "political
interference in judicial appointments" led to the house first being adjourned for 10 minutes and then till
1200 hours. No sooner had Ronald Sapa Tlau, the newly-elected member from Mizoram, taken oath,
AIADMK members were up on their feet displaying copies of The Times of India that carried an article by
Press Council of India chairman Katju on the appointment. "You will not show newspaper here, Dr
Maitreyan," chairman Hamid Ansari said referring to AIADMK leader who wanted the Question Hour to be
suspended to discuss the issue. V Maitreyan said this was an important issue. "You can't do this...
nobody is listening to you," Ansari said as AIADMK members moved into aisle raising solgans. He then
adjourned the house for 10 minutes. When the house reassembled, similar scenes were witnessed with
AIADMK members insisting on suspension of Question Hour. "If you have an issue to raise, raise it
through appropriate procedure. This is not the way. You are disrupting listed business," Ansari said
warning members that he would name them if they continued to display newspaper. "I will have to name
you for display of newspaper," he said as unheeding AIADMK members continued to shout slogans.
Maitreyan wanted to know if former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was seated in the House, was
aware of the allegation against the judge and if his ally DMK had put pressure on his government to
elevate him. (Times of India 21/7/14)
Housing society scam: Six retd public servants get jail (5)
NEW DELHI: Six retired public servants have been sentenced to one year imprisonment by a Delhi court
in one of the corruption cases pertaining to a Rs 4000 crore cooperative group housing society (CGHS)
scam which dates back to the 1970s. The seventh convict, who was a private person, has been
sentenced to three years in jail for the offences of forgery, cheating and using a forged document as
genuine under IPC. Special CBI Judge Manoj Jain sentenced former Registrar Cooperative Societies
(RCS) Narayan Diwakar, dealing assistant Faiz Mohammad, senior auditor P K Thirwani, assistant
registrar Yogi Raj, upper division clerk U S Bhatnagar and RCS inspecting officer Ram Nath to one year
simple imprisonment and also slapped a fine of Rs 30,000 on each of them. The court held Diwakar and
five ex-public servants guilty of various offences under IPC relating to attempting to cheat, forgery and
using forged documents as genuine and under the Prevention of Corruption Act for attempting to commit
criminal misconduct. Complicity of public servants accused is very evident. RCS officials were supposed

to apply horse sense and they rather completely ignored the basic things and the application in question
was entertained without raising any eyebrow," the judge said in his order last week. The court while
sentencing Delhi resident Gokul Chand Aggarwal, a private person, also directed him to pay a fine of Rs
70,000. The judge observed that "fortunately it remained a case of attempted cheating only as the
conspiracy got unearthed before the land could be actually allotted at reserve price." The seven convicts
had fraudulently tried to revive the already liquidated Anand CGHS by forging documents and showing
non-existent members. According to CBI, Anand CGHS was allotted a land in Pitampura by DDA in 1975
for a token money but due to the failure of the society to pay the remaining amount, it was liquidated by
RCS. (New Indian Express 24/7/14)
VVIP chopper deal: Prosecutors shelve proceedings against Finmeccanica (5)
Rome: In a new twist in the scam-tainted VVIP chopper deal, prosecutors Tuesday shelved proceedings
against Finmeccanica, the parent company of AgustaWestland, in the alleged kickbacks in the Rs 3,600
crore deal, Italian news agency Ansa reported. "The prosecution found the company had nothing to do
with the alleged corruption. AgustaWestland has agreed to pay a fine, while reiterating it knew nothing
about the alleged bribery," the agency quoted Finmeccanica as saying in a statement. Prosecutors earlier
this month had sought that former Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi be sentenced to six years and
former AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini get five years in prison for allegedly paying the bribes.
AgustaWestland's Rs 3,600 crore contract for supplying 12 VVIP choppers to the IAF has been scrapped
by the Indian Government over the charges of paying kickbacks to Indian agents. The government had
cancelled AgustaWestland's contract on January 1 and began the process of encashing bank guarantees
of the Anglo-Italian firm worth around Rs 2,200 crore deposited in banks of Italy and India. Orsi has
denied any wrongdoing, telling a preliminary investigations judge that all his actions were "motivated by
the exclusive interest of Finmeccanica and all its subsidiaries".He also denied knowing the family of
former IAF chief S P Tyagi. Prosecutors alleged that members of Tyagi's family received bribes paid by
Finmeccanica to secure the contract for 12 VVIP choppers for the IAF. (Deccan Herald 30/7/14)

RTI application reveals graft cases against 157 IAS officers in past 10 years (5)
New Delhi: As many as 157 IAS officers have alleged corruption cases registered against them in the
past ten years while sanction of prosecution has been issued only against 15 of them, according to an
RTI reply. In reply to a query under the Right to Information Act, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances
and Pensions said a total of 157 officers have been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The charges against these officers range from corruption, taking bribe, causing financial loss to the
government, possessing disproportionate assets, irregularities to involvement in various scams. Sanction
for prosecution is still awaited against 142 officers for their alleged involvement in graft cases, the RTI
reply said, adding, cases against 71 of these bureaucrats are being probed by the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI). Among theses officers, two were allegedly involved in the cases related to
irregularities in Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, two others were booked in Adarsh Housing
Society scam, 12 have been charged of having disproportionate assets. A few others have also been
booked in high-profile cases. Hisar-based RTI activist Ramesh Verma had sought details of bureaucrats
against whom there were serious charges. (DNA 3/8/14)
Cheat and teach: Meet Bihar teachers who got their B.Ed before they were born (5)
Patna: L B Singh, a teacher at a Bihar government school in Saharsa, was born in January 1986. But he
got his Bachelor of Education degree in 1979 seven years before he was born. Indu Kumari of Saran
got her B.Ed degree seven years before her birth, while Shivnarayan Yadav of Madhepura and Priti
Kumari, Tarkeshwar Prasad Singh of East Champaran achieved this distinction three years and five years
before they were born, respectively. There are at least 95 other such teachers among the 32,127

appointed by Bihar in March-April 2012, in compliance with the Supreme Courts 2010 order to appoint
34,540 teachers, who got their B.Ed degrees either before their birth or before the likely age of 21. The
vacancies were advertised by the Staff Selection Commission in 2003 but not honoured by the previous
RJD government. The number of those among the 32,127 who could have got jobs on fake or forged
degrees is above 3,000, sources in the Bihar Human Resource Development Ministry told The Indian
Express. Since an inquiry began in June 2012 following numerous complaints by candidates who were
not selected, 306 of them have been sacked. The minimum qualification to get the job of a regular
teacher at a Bihar government school (Classes I to VIII) is graduation followed by a B.Ed degree.
Between two similarly qualified applicants, whoever has got a B.Ed degree earlier is preferred for the job.
A regular teacher gets Rs 32,000 a month. Bihar Primary Education Joint Director R S Singh said: Of the
306 regular teachers terminated so far, 39 each are from Vaishali and Gopalganj, followed by 36 from
Kaimur. We have already intensified the degree verification process for both regular and contract
teachers. The Indian Express had reported in June that 20,000 of the 1.42 lakh contractual teachers
appointed during a mass recruitment drive between 2006 and 2011 had been selected on the basis of
forged educational or professional degrees. Chief Minister Jeetan Ram Manjhi had ordered an inquiry into
the appointments after The Indian Express reports. The state government that put in place a Teachers
Eligibility Test in 2012 for contract teachers has also decided to make the appointment process more
transparent through amendments in existing norms. These new findings are concerning regular teachers.
A senior HRD official admitted that they were yet to take action against most of these teachers due to the
lackadaisical pace of inquiry. (The Financial Express 7/8/14)
Anti-corruption agency to keep an eye on Corp's wards (5)
KOCHI: The Anti-Corruption Peoples Movement (Kerala), will open branches in all the 74 divisions of the
Kochi Corporation, with the aim of assessing the ward-level performance of the Corporation authorities,
and to make the administration corruption-free. The ward-level activities of the agency will be launched
with a survey of various issues faced by the people. A committee will be formed for the purpose. The
information gathered through the survey will be compiled, and future activities designed accordingly. The
primary aim is to set a background for creating a corruption-free environment and to pave the way for a
loyal society, said Anti-Corruption Peoples Movement general secretary-in-charge P S Sivankutty. The
fund required for the working of the committee will be collected from people. The youth, women and
senior citizens, who are willing to cooperate with the Movement, will be selected on the basis of the
answers given to a questionnaire. After an interview, membership will be given. Training will be given
with respect to functioning of the various departments of the Corporation; the Civil Rights Act; the
Municipality Act; the Right to Information Act; the anti-corruption rules; and the working of the anticorruption and vigilance wing and the Vigilance Court. Trained volunteers will lead the ward-level
activities, he said. (New Indian Express 9/8/14)
SIT on black money to study Syndicate Bank case (5)
NEW DELHI: The alleged bribery case involving Syndicate Bank chief SK Jain may come up for
discussion in the meeting of the special investigation team on black money, as it is a "classic" case of
how proceeds of corruption were transferred through hawala channels, sources said. The CBI has found
that a layered approach was adopted through which alleged bribe of Rs 50 lakh, for not declaring bad
loans of Bhushan Steel as non-performing assets, was handed over to two businessmen who were also
Jain's relatives, thus covering the money trail. Senior officials handling the case claimed that the alleged
bribe was handed over to a middleman, who is a businessman, to give it the colour of legitimate business
transaction. They said this amount was allegedly further handed over to Puneet and Vineet Godha, both
relatives of Jain. Sources said by such a chain, no actual delivery of bribe money to Jain was made.
Sources said they had recovered documents related to five valuable properties from Jain's residence and
the agency suspects they could have been bought through similar transactions in the past. Justice MB

Shah heads the special investigating team formed by the Modi government to probe cases involving black
money and money laundering. "This is a classic case as to how people are now hiding money trail of illgotten money. We may provide input of this and such cases during the next meeting of SIT to show how
tracks are being covered by culprits," a senior official said. The special investigation team, under
chairmanship of former Supreme Court judge Justice MB Shah, also comprises CBI director, revenue
secretary, deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India, directors of Intelligence Bureau (IB), Enforcement
Directorate (ED), Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) (Times of
India 11/8/14)

Jaipur Municipal Corporation CEO removed following corruption case filed against him
JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government on Tuesday removed IAS officer Lalchand Aswal from the post of
Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) CEO, a day after the Anti Corruption Bureau registered an FIR
against him. Aswal who was to retire from the service next month has been accused of running a
corruption racket in the civic body. The ACB had earlier arrested executive engineer Purushottam
Jeshwani with Rs 15 lakh unaccounted money. During interrogation Jeshwani allegedly implicated Aswal
and said that he was taking the money to the CEO. ACB officials said that they are moving ahead in their
investigation against Aswal. "We on Tuesday quizzed over 15 employees and officers of the JMC's
accounting and records section. They are being quizzed to ascertain as to how the payment was released
to contractors and the CEO's intervention in these matters," said an ACB officer. The officer said that the
agency is also studying the 46 files seized from Jeshwani in front of Aswal's house on Sunday. "If the files
were to be handed over to CEO for release of payment to few contractors who would pay the commission
for awarding the work, we are trying to find these favours in the files," said the officer. The CEO's post has
been taken over by Gyan Chand, an RAS officer previously posted as joint secretary in PHED in Jaipur.
The officer added that after corroborating the evidences with what came up during preliminary
investigation they would send a notice to Aswal. Purushottam Jeshwani arrested with unaccounted
money in front of Lalchand Aswal's house on SundayFIR lodged against Aswal under Prevention of
Corruption Act and 120B of IPC on Monday. Aswal is accused of taking commission from contractors to
issue work orders and payments Aswal removed from post on Tuesday. ACB quizzes JMC employees
and seizes record suggesting Aswal allegedly used to issue orders verbally for release of payments.
(Times of India 13/8/14)
CBI gets custody of two accused in censor board bribe case
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday obtained a five-day custody of the two
accused who have been arrested for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs. 70,000 on behalf of Central Board
of Film Certification (CBFC) chief executive officer Rakesh Kumar. Although Mr. Kumar has not been
arrested yet, CBI spokesperson Kanchan Prasad said, investigations against him are under way. The
agencys anti-corruption unit on Thursday conducted searches on the Mumbai premises of Mr. Kumar
following allegations that he had demanded and received bribes for issuing certificate to a Chhattisgarhi
film. The CBI initially received a complaint from an authorised agent alleging that Shripati Mishra, another
authorised agent for censor certification, had demanded Rs. 70,000 on behalf of the CBFC CEO for
urgently issuing a certificate for regional language Chhattisgarhi Mor Dauki Ke Bihav. The film was
scheduled to be released on August 15, 2014. Based on the complaint, the agency laid a trap and
arrested Shripati Mishra and Sarvesh Jaiswal, Advisory Panel member, CBFC-Mumbai, for allegedly
accepting the bribe amount. Both the accused were produced before a court that remanded them to
police custody of the CBI till August 20. (The Hindu 15/8/14)
Mumbai: ACB to upload photos of corrupt on FB

Mumbai: In a bid to check corruption and embarrass the offenders, the Maharashtra Anti Corruption
Bureau (ACB) is planning to launch a page on a popular social networking site where it would upload the
pictures of those caught for taking bribes. "In a bid to intensify our action against corrupt and reach out to
people, we are planning to use the popular platform of Facebook in a week time," said director general of
police (ACB) Pravin Dixit. The Facebook page, if started, will have the pictures of the accused, besides
the details of the bribe amount the accused took, valuables and other documents recovered from him/her
during searches at office and home, police said. The ACB, which has laid as many as 744 traps so far
this year, a 114% jump from the same period last year, has been for the past two months publishing
pictures of those caught in the act on its own website. During the 744 traps till August 16, it has arrested
1009 government employees and their associates, who are private individuals. In the same period last
year, 348 traps were laid in which 452 were arrested. "The reason why we are considering this idea is
that it will damage the image of the arrested accused and it will deter others from accepting bribe," said
another official. If the pictures and other details are uploaded on the social networking site, the accused
would be embarrassed in front of their family and friends and they may not indulge in such acts in future,
if reinstated in their service, police said. (Hindustan Time 17/8/14)
Antony panel blames inflation, corruption for Congress debacle in Lok Sabha poll
NEW DELHI: Putting the blame for Congress's defeat on the Manmohan Singh government, an in-house
inquiry is learnt to have found inflation as the reason for the party's worst-ever performance in Lok Sabha
elections. The AK Antony panel is also learnt to have listed indiscipline, corruption and media as the
factors that contributed to the Congress collapse. Price rise, which dogged the entire tenure of UPA-2,
drove voters away from Congress, the panel is learnt to have said. Almost every leader from states that
the probe panel interacted with is learnt to have told the Antony panel that persistently high food prices
neutralized the effect that Congress campaign was supposed to have on its supporters and the middle
class. The picking on inflation, a direct indictment of the government, comes alongside the panel calling
the defeat a collective failure and absolving key party campaigners of responsibility. According to
sources, there is also stress on how the perception of corruption against the UPA killed its chances with
voters. The three-year-long NDA campaign over various scams, especially 2G, dented the credibility of
the Congress regime beyond repair. While inflation and corruption are known reasons for the rout that
blew away the ruling party, sources said the Antony panel has also pointed out that indiscipline cost the
Congress dearly. The split between chief ministers and party presidents and general factionalism in state
units prevented the party from pulling in one direction. Infighting was a feature of UPA government in the
form of turf wars among central ministers that virtually jammed policy-making and presented UPA-2 as a
divided house (Times of India 19/8/14)
CBFC CEO received Rs. 30 lakh for out-of-turn certification, says CBI
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has said that Rakesh Kumar, Chief Executive
Officer of the Central Board of Film Certification, has made over Rs. 30 lakh by issuing film certification
out of turn during the seven-and-a-half months he had been in office. The Union Information and
Broadcasting Ministry suspended Mr. Kumar. The Chief Executive Officer of the Childrens Film Society of
India has been given additional charge as CBFC head. Union Minister of State for Information and
Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar ordered that steps be taken to make the film certification process
transparent. Seeking permission for his custodial interrogation, the CBI told a special court here on
Tuesday that Kumar used to demand up to Rs. 25,000 for screening of a feature film within seven or eight
days and up to Rs. 1.5 lakh for screening within three or four days instead of the routine 15 days. The
rate was Rs. 15,000 for screening of a short film within a day and early certification. The certification was
done within three days for a short film, promo, trailer or ad film if Kumar was paid Rs. 2,000, though three
days were normally required. The rate was Rs. 10,000 for certification on the same day of application, the
agency said. The court remanded Kumar, arrested on Monday on cheating and corruption charges, in

CBI custody until Friday. A senior officer privy to the investigation said all movies, short films and ad films
cleared during Kumars tenure were under the scanner. They included two big-banner Bollywood movies
released recently. The case came to light after an agent approached the CBI saying he was asked to pay
a bribe of Rs. 70,000 for getting certification for the release of his regional movie, Mor Dauki Ke Bihav, on
August 15. The CBI said that of the 15 to 20 authorised agents associated with the CBFC, Kumar had a
coterie of four or five and used to clear only those movies routed through them. If any producer or
director approached Kumar through agents outside his coterie, he used to deny certification. He then
used to contact the producers and directors and ask them to get in touch with his set of agents, a senior
CBI official told The Hindu. Another accused, Sarvesh Jaiswal, used to demand the bribe on Kumars
behalf. The bribe was then delivered at his South Mumbai home. (The Hindu 20/8/14)
Corruption a disease, sin, says Prime Minister (5)
Mouda: Terming corruption as a disease and sin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said his
government was committed to banishing it from the country.Corruption has destroyed the country... For
some, it has become a way of life. This disease has to be banished, we have to get rid of this sin, he told
a gathering after dedicating to the nation the 1000 MW Mouda Super Thermal Power Project Stage-1 in
poll-bound Maharashtra. The function was boycotted by Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan,
who is upset over having to stop his speech midway due to chants of Modi! Modi at a function in Solapur
last Saturday when the Prime Minister inaugurated a National Highway project. Describing the Solapur
incident as unfortunate, Mr Chavan had on Wednesday said he had decided to skip Mr Modis functions
in Nagpur. Governor K. Sankaranarayanan was, however, present. Mr Modi said providing electricity to
everyone across the country is the topmost priority of his government. For any country to progress,
priority has to be given to infrastructure. If we can deliver durable infrastructure, possibilities of
development increase. Among all kinds of infrastructure, power is the most important as it is critical to
bringing about a change in the quality of life of the people, he said. Resolving to provide power to all,
Mr Modi referred to the stress he had laid on hydropower during his recent visits to Bhutan and Nepal as
also Jammu and Kashmir. He said the aim of his government is to tap all sources of energy with
emphasis on clean energy like solar power and stressed upon the need for power and water conservation
for sustained development. (Asian Age 22/8/14)
Railway bribery case: trial to start from September 15
New Delhi: A special court in New Delhi on Friday fixed September 15 for commencement of trial in the
Rs. 10-crore cash-for-post railway bribery case in which former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansals
nephew Vijay Singla and others, including a suspended Railway Board member, were chargesheeted by
CBI. Special CBI Judge Swarana Kanta Sharma, who was scheduled to commence the trial from
Monday, deferred it for September 15 as CBIs prosecutor was on leave. Paving the way for the trial, the
court had on March 11 framed charges against all the accused under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy)
of the IPC read with provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act. Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal,
who had resigned as Railway Minister after the case came to light, has been arraigned as a prosecution
witness by CBI in the case. The court had framed charges against Mr. Singla, then Member (Staff) of
Railway Board Mahesh Kumar, Managing Director of Bangalore-based G. G. Tronics India Pvt Limited N
R Manjunath, alleged middlemen Ajay Garg and Sandeep Goyal and co-accused Rahul Yadav, Sameer
Sandhir, Sushil Daga, C. V. Venugopal and M. V. Murali Krishan. The court, while framing charges
against the accused, had observed that they had prima facie entered into a criminal conspiracy to get
Mahesh Kumar appointed as Member (Electrical) in the Railway Board and for that Mr. Singla was to be
paid Rs. 10 crore as illegal gratification. It had observed that as per the records placed before it, Rs. two
crore was to be paid immediately and Mr. Kumar had instructed Mr. Manjunath to arrange the bribe of Rs.
two crore through other co-accused. CBI had filed a charge sheet on May 2 last year against the 10
accused. The probe agency had alleged that Mr. Singla had demanded Rs. 10 crore from Kumar for his

appointment to the post of Member (Electrical) and it was decided between the accused that Rs. 5 crore
will be paid before the appointment and the rest after the job was done. It had claimed first tranche of
around Rs. 90 lakh was given to Mr. Singla who was apprehended while accepting the money. (The
Hindu 25/8/14)
New Lokpal rules to be notified soon: Govt
New Delhi: Government will soon notify new rules for modifying mandate of Lokpal search committee,
tasked with recommending names for appointment of chairperson and members of the anti-corruption
body. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) is finalising the new rules in consultation with
the Law Ministry, official sources said. The search committee is likely to get power to recommend people
for chairperson and members of Lokpal from outside the list, to be provided by the DoPT, for
consideration of Prime Minister-led selection committee, they said. As per the existing rules, an eightmember search panel is tasked to draw up a panel of persons for consideration by the selection
committee. The search panel has to choose these persons from among the panel provided by the DoPT.
A committee headed by Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi had also submitted to the Centre its report
on amendments in the Lokpal search panel rules. The committee was formed to look into any legal
complications for bringing in changes in the search panel rules, which were formed by the last UPA
government. The committee's report has been examined by the DoPT and the new rules are likely to be
notified soon, they said. The government will go ahead with appointments of Lokpal only after the
amendments are carried out in the rules, the sources said. In a related development, the DoPT has
recently renewed delegation of power to decide on matters handled by it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi
will decide on all matters relating to Lokpal, CVC and anti-corruption legislation under newly-formed
delegation of powers on works handled by the DoPT. The UPA government could not go ahead with the
much- touted appointment of chairperson and members of Lokpal due to BJP's objection to the selection
procedure. The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act provides for the establishment of a Lokpal for the Union and
Lokayuktas for the states to inquire into corruption charges against public functionaries. The Lokpal
selection committee, led by the Prime Minister, has as its members the Lok Sabha Speaker, Leader of
Opposition in the Lower House, the Chief Justice of India or a judge of the apex court nominated by him,
and an eminent jurist who could be nominated by the President or any other member. (Zee News
25/8/14)
Coalgate: Supreme Court's order puts accused in a tight spot
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court's declaration that all coal block allocations since July 1993 were illegal
has possibly knocked down the first defence - that there is no irregularity in the allocations hence no case
made out under Prevention of Corruption Act of the accused in coal scam cases when the trial court
commences proceedings. Once the SC holds that the allocations are illegal and arbitrary, the trial court
will think twice before entertaining this defence of the accused. This defence lost its legs when a bench
headed by Chief Justice R M Lodha said, "The screening committee has never been consistent, it has not
been transparent, there is no proper application of mind, it has acted on no material in many cases,
relevant factors have seldom been its guiding factors, there was no transparency and guidelines have
seldom guided it. On many occasions, guidelines have been honoured more in their breach. There was
no objective criteria, nay, no criteria for evaluation of comparative merits." Just putting a why before each
of the sentences in this paragraph of the judgment would make one understand the anxiety of the
accused. Why was the screening committee not consistent? Why was it not transparent? Why was there
no application of mind? Why did it act without material basis? Why was it not guided by guiding factors?
Why did it violate guidelines? Why did it not evaluate comparative merits of applicants? Answers to these
would possibly lead to a prima facie inference that there was some wrongdoing on the part of the allottee
to influence the decision. Thus, it could take away the primary defence of the accused against framing of
charges by the trial court if the CBI brings a charge-sheet against him. In a little over two years, this is the

second instance of the SC finding illegalities in the allocation of natural resources, faulting the
government for not following guidelines and maintaining transparency. In February 2012, the court
cancelled 122 spectrum licences allotted in January 2008 by the UPA government during the tenure of A
Raja as telecom minister. The fast-track trial in the irregular allotment of 2G spectrum is nearing the end,
yet the accused continue to complain that the SC's watchful eye on the investigation and the trial
proceedings have gravely prejudiced their defence. In an uncanny similarity, the SC on Monday declared
as illegal allotment of over 200 coal blocks since July 1993, many of which were de-allocated by the UPA
government during pendency of the case before the apex court. It said the allocations were illegal as they
were done arbitrarily, resulting in unfair distribution of natural resources. In the 2G scam cases too, the
apex court had termed the spectrum allotted for mobile telephony licences as precious natural resources
and warned that the desired way of allocation was through public auction. Like the 2G case, the coal
block allocations too put question marks on many bigwigs. During the hearing, questions were raised
about the alleged arbitrary allocations of coal blocks during the period former PM Manmohan Singh was
heading the coal ministry.
(Times of India 26/8/14)