Amid a heightened awareness among the people of the fight against corruption, the Union government's principal investigation agency finds itself grossly understaffed.
As at the end of last year, 21 per cent of the sanctioned posts were lying vacant in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), according to official data.
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The Centre did not provide any response to the agency's 236 requests for sanction for action against government officials. Of these, 155 requests had been pending for more than three months.
As at the end of 2010, 9,927 cases handled by the CBI were pending with courts.
Under the existing laws, public servants can be penalised for corruption under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, prohibits such transactions but rules to bring the Act into operation are yet to be notified.
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The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, is another law invoked to check money-laundering.