The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has ordered that preliminary inquiry in graft cases, if at all warranted, should be completed within 15 days.
An internal note issued by Vinson M. Paul, Director, VACB, on December 12, is widely perceived as a strong move against the supposedly subtle but pervasive tendency in the anti-corruption agency to employ the provision for preliminary inquiry as a ruse to hold up serious anti-corruption investigations.
The VACB’s view was that the propensity to dismiss complaints after a protracted preliminary inquiry had, over the years, eroded the agency’s credibility in public eye and discouraged whistle-blowers and informants from seeking its help.
ADVERTISEMENT
An official said there had been scores of instances of unusual delays in initiating criminal prosecution in serious corruption cases owing to non-completion of the so-called preliminary inquiry process.
Far too many preliminary inquiries have been closed tardily and offhandedly and without disclosing the reasons for doing so, he said.
Mr. Paul has ordered that henceforth, the inquiring officer should, within seven days of closing a complaint after preliminary inquiry, inform the first informant/whistle-blower, in writing, the reasons for the discharge of his or her petition..
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Paul warned stringent action against officers who were loath to register cases even after the information received by them revealed a “cognizable offence”.
The director pointed out in his order that the scope of a preliminary inquiry was not to verify the veracity or otherwise of the information received but only to ascertain whether it revealed a cognizable offence or not.
The order stated that registration of a First Information Report (FIR) was mandatory if the information received by the agency revealed a “cognizable offence” at the very outset. In such a context, no preliminary inquiry would be permitted.
He said all information received by the VACB units should be recorded in the general diary (GD-a record of all information received at a police station), irrespective of whether they result in registration of a case or initiation of a preliminary inquiry. Any reason for not registering an FIR should be mandatorily mentioned in the GD.