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CVC asks depts to keep an eye on corrupt officers, places of corruption
The updated manual is the eighth since 1968 and is a compilation of various rules, instructions, and guidelines for government departments and enforcement agencies in vigilance matters
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has updated its manual after four years and asked the government departments, undertakings, and administrations to prepare lists of “unscrupulous contractors, suppliers, firms and clearing agents” suspected of corrupt practices. Copies of the lists are to be sent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The central anti-corruption probe agency will also pass information pertaining to any corrupt practices of contractors and agents to the concerned departments.
The updated manual is the eighth since 1968 and is a compilation of various rules, instructions, and guidelines. It acts as a guidebook for government departments and enforcement agencies in vigilance matters. A drafting committee, headed by chief vigilance commissioner Suresh N Patel and assisted by CBI special director Praveen Sinha, finalised it.
For the first time, the CVC has included in its manual the mode of keeping a secret watch on the officers in “Agreed List” of gazetted officers whose honesty or integrity is doubtful. The list is made by concerned government departments in consultation with the CBI.
Similarly, it explains the procedure for adding or deleting names from the list of gazetted Officers of Doubtful Integrity, as well as the list of Undesirable Contact Men, prepared by the CBI, suspected of resorting to corrupt or irregular practices in their dealings with official agencies.
Another key addition in the document is an “Agreed List of Points and Places of Corruption”, which will be prepared by the CBI after discussions with the concerned heads of department or chief vigilance officers at its local offices at the beginning of the calendar year.
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These procedures have been drawn from CBI’s crime manual updated last year after 15 years. CBI’s manual has not been made public yet.
CVC’s latest manual asks authorities to extend all cooperation to the CBI by allowing them to scrutinize relevant records during an investigation, whether preliminary or regular. “If the CBI wishes to check the veracity of information in their possession from the official records, even before registration of a PE (preliminary enquiry) or Regular Case, they may be allowed to see the records on receipt of a request from the Superintendent of Police (empowered under Special Police Establishment Act),” it says.
An official, who did not want to be named, said the CVC manual was last updated in 2017 but a lot of changes have taken place since then. For example, the Prevention of Corruption Act has been amended, while regulatory bodies and the government have issued the latest procurement as well as banking/insurance-related guidelines. Subsequently, the CBI also updated its manual last year adding details of procedures to be followed in vigilance/corruption probes.
“The latest CVC manual is comprehensive and has several new additions. The plan is to update it annually so that administrative authorities and vigilance officers/agencies empowered to investigate corruption matters have latest information,” said the officer.
