There is a singular lack of punishment to be noted in recent cases of corruption involving people in government
The blindfolded “Lady of Justice”, usually carrying a sword and scales, is seen often in India, particularly in courts and movies. Almost always draped in flowing robes, she symbolizes fair and equal administration of the law – without corruption, avarice, prejudice or favour.
In the last few months we have had prominent scams and misdeeds highlighted by the media – involving a Union Cabinet member, Chief Justice of a High Court and wannabe judge of the Supreme Court, an IAS trio in Madhya Pradesh, and four Generals of the Indian Army. Have the “scales of justice” been even in all these cases?
First, the 2G Spectrum affair. Union Telecommunication Minister A Raja has some favourite real-estate companies, and two such entities – Swan and Unitech – that were not in the telecom business bagged spectrum licences at throwaway prices. They then offloaded their shares at exorbitant profit to multinational telecom giants. Swan Telecom had bagged licences for13 circles, paying Rs 1,537 crore. Within months, 45 per cent of these shares were sold to an MNC for around Rs 4,500 crore.
Unitech did not invest a penny in telecom infrastructure and yet got licences to operate in 22 circles for Rs 1,651 crore. Within weeks, it sold 60 per cent of its shares for Rs 6,120 crore to another MNC
Unitech did not invest a penny in telecom infrastructure and yet got licences to operate in 22 circles for Rs 1,651 crore. Within weeks, it sold 60 per cent of its shares for Rs 6,120 crore to another MNC. Valued at a whopping Rs 60,000 crore, the 2G spectrum allocation is perhaps the mother of all scams in India.
The Finance Ministry itself has admitted a loss of Rs 22, 466 crore on the 2G deals. Although Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was aware of the huge scam, he turned a Nelson’s eye probably due to the compulsions of coalition politics and other considerations.
Next, the judicial shenanigans. When it came to be known that Justice PD Dinakaran, former Judge of Madras High Court and currently Chief Justice of Karnataka, had been recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court of India, the Chennai-based Forum for Judicial Accountability (FJA) made serious allegations against him. These concerned acquiring over 300 acres of land in three villages of Tamil Nadu; encroaching upon another 150 acres of village common land as well as government land meant for distribution to landless Dalit families; and acquiring high-value commercial and residential properties in Chennai.
The allegations emphasized the dishonest manner in which he dealt with a number of cases relating to mining leases, and passed a series of very unusual orders, many for the benefit of the miners. In one case, he is alleged to have allowed a miner to lift over 1lakh tonnes of iron ore on a writ petition filed by him in 2009, on the plea that he had mined the material prior to 1985 (when his lease had expired) and that he had not lifted the material for 24 years since the ore was worthless earlier! All in all, the allegations form a formidable body of credible charges.
Despite the District Collector’s two confirmatory reports on land-grab, the Survey of India, under orders from an unknown authority, has been meddling with the matter by “conducting a spot probe”. Finally, the matter landed before the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha through a resolution of impeachment by 76 MPs and a three-member inquiry committee has been formed. But its composition has been questioned by the FJA. With no credible institutional mechanism whatsoever to deal with errant and corrupt judges, l’affaire Dinakaran may not see the light of day!
The civil services are not far behind. Senior IAS couple Arvind and Tinu Joshi of Madhya Pradesh has been caught with Rs 3 crore in cash, Rs 50 lakh in jewellery, Rs 5 lakh in foreign liquor, Rs 7 lakh in foreign currency and Rs 3 crore in insurance investments. Stacked in bathrooms, the kitchen and under their beds, the bundles of Rs 1,000- and Rs 500-denomination notes packed in nice bags were so numerous that the raiding team had to resort to currency-counting machines! In neighbouring Chhattisgarh, the home of Agriculture Secretary BL Agarwal yielded Rs 52 lakh in cash, jewellery worth Rs 72 lakh, and 220 bank passbooks in benami names with deposits worth Rs 40 crore.
The officials have been placed under suspension, which is not a punishment. According to Central Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha, a list of 123 tainted IAS, IPS and IFS officers has been posted on the commission’s website after the completion of all processes, including deliberations with the CBI and other departments. Though he had recommended prosecution or imposition of penalty in September 2009, little has been done till date.
Due to Constitutional protection under Article 311 and the need to take prior permission from the government in order for courts to prosecute them, corrupt civil servants go scot-free!
Clearly, most officers go unpunished because of their unholy nexus with politicians and the loopholes in the system. Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily admitted that “departmental inquiries are soft-pedalled either out of patronage or misplaced compassion”. Due to Constitutional protection under Article 311 and the need to take prior permission from the government in order for courts to prosecute them, corrupt civil servants go scot-free!
This brings us to the armed forces. Sukna, near Darjeeling, is a military station under the Army’s 33 Corps with an adjacent 71-acre tea estate owned by the West Bengal government. The Corps Commander, Lt-Gen PK Rath – allegedly on the insistence of Lt-Gen Avdesh Prakash, Military Secretary – issued a No Objection Certificate for one Dileep Agarwal’s project to set up an educational institution supposedly affiliated to the famed Mayo College at Ajmer. Lt-Gen VK Singh, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, and now Army Chief-designate, was kept in the dark. On coming to know, he immediately appointed a Court of Inquiry (CoI).
The CoI indicted three Lt-Generals – Prakash, Rath, and a Halgali – and a Major-General Sen, for the wrong-doing in promoting the vested interests of a real-estate builder. It also drew attention to Gen Prakash’s alleged association with the builder. Based on the CoI report, the Eastern Army Commander recommended strong disciplinary action – meaning court-martial and “cashiering” – against all the Generals. He also cancelled the NOC before it could reach the West Bengal government.
On receipt of the CoI report, the Army Chief, General Deepak Kapoor, opted for administrative action against Gen Prakash and disciplinary action as recommended for the others. Defence Minister AK Antony, keen to uphold the highest military tradition, put his foot down and virtually directed the Army Chief to court-martial Gen Prakash. Gen Kapoor complied and ordered the court-martial just two days ahead of Prakash’s retirement from military service, making him the seniormost three-star general in the Army to ever face such action.
The known charge against the Generals is that of “unbecoming conduct” under the Army Act: “Any officer, who behaves in a manner unbecoming of his position and the character expected of him shall, on conviction by court-martial, be liable to be cashiered….” In the British tradition, which India follows, cashiering is associated with the dismissal of military officers of high rank involving public dishonour, disgrace and degradation.
Total immunity for the mother of all scams, a farcical impeachment facade for land-grab and a judge’s dishonesty; Constitutional protection for crores-under-the-bed corruption; court-martial and cashiering for an NOC that does not exist. Indeed, the scales of justice are swinging wildly, and fair and equal administration of the law seems nowhere to be seen.
The chariot of governance moves on four wheels – political, judicial, civil and military. With three wheels rotting, the chariot cannot move and will ultimately collapse. Conscientious politicians like Antony should, instead of fixing just one wheel, strive to put all wheels on a par lest governance itself collapse.
(The writer is a former Army and IAS officer and can be reached at mgd@airtelmail.in )
IAS (retd) with a distinguished career of 40 years - worked in Army, Govt, Private, Politics & NGOs.
