Honest bureaucrats need not fear prosecution for taking well-intentioned decisions as the shield of sanction will continue to be extended to them even after they have resigned or retired from service.
This is among fresh amendments approved by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday to the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 which also includes putting corruption in the category of heinous crimes punishable with imprisonment upto seven years.
Making it more difficult for the CBI to prosecute officers facing allegations of corruption, the proposed amendment makes it mandatory for the investigating agency to take prior sanction from the Lokpal or Lokayuktas for probing “offences relatable to recommendations made or decision taken by a public servant in discharge of official functions or duties.”
The amendment comes in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance to bureaucrats that they should take decisions fearlessly and that he would back them for bonafinde decisions.
The NDA government has refrained from introducing large-scale amendments to the PC Act and made only a few changes to the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013 that was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on August 19, 2013 by the previous UPA regime.
The fresh amendments, which will be tabled in Rajya Sabha soon, also provide for stringent punishment for bribe givers which is not there in the existing law.
The minimum sentence for an offence of corruption has been enhanced from six months to three years and from maximum five years to seven years. Any sentence for seven years puts an offence in the heinous crime category.
Lokpal: Undeclared assets to be presumed as corrupt proceeds
The failure to declare assets by government employees while filing property returns under the new Lokpal rules will be presumed to have been acquired by corrupt means, the Centre has said. Besides, it has said that such declarations filed by government employees are to be put up in public domain. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has issued a draft frequently asked questions in respect of the Lokpal Act, saying employees are required to file two returns -- first for assets as on August 1, 2014 and the other giving detail of property and liabilities as on March 31, 2015 -- before the recently extended date of October 15, this year.