Wrong signals: Corruption cases being ‘Deliberately Stalled or Dropped’ in Telangana, alleges FGG

Hyderabad: Forum for Good Governance (FGG), a Hyderabad-based think tank, raised serious concerns about the handling of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases in Telangana, alleging that corruption cases are being deliberately stalled or dropped, sending ‘wrong signals’ to government employees.

Padmanabha Reddy, President, Forum for Good Governance (FGG), alleged that after the formation of Telangana, corruption in administration has increased manyfold. “Government employees have no fear of punishment for wrongdoing.  There are a number of cases where employees are caught by ACB more than once,” said FGG in a statement, adding that “ACB is regularly booking cases against corrupt officials, but the cases are kept pending without prosecution and sometimes the cases are withdrawn, sending a wrong signal to employees.”

Some of the case studies pointed out by the Forum for Good Governance are the first case of Satyanarayana, then law officer (Deputy Collector), and his Senior Assistant Mohan Rao were trapped while taking bribe.  Despite ACB's detailed inquiry and prosecution request in 2010, the government dropped action against the Deputy Collector. With respect to Mohan Rao Senior Assistant, the government in 2014 issued orders to the District Collector Hyderabad to prosecute Mohan Rao.  The matter has been pending for the last 14 years without any final orders.

Second case of Ramu Naik, then Deputy Collector, Civil Supplies department, was trapped while demanding and accepting bribe.  When his house was searched, it was found that he has huge properties more than his known source of income.  Two cases, one for the trap and another for disproportionate assets, were registered.  ACB  officials after a detailed inquiry, submitted their report to the Government in 2014 requesting permission to prosecute Ramu Naik.  Government did not give permission for prosecution and referred the matter to the Commissioner of Inquiries.  After booking the case 14 years back, the case is still pending and, in all probability, he may be let off.

The third case of S. Sahadev, then Joint Sub-Registrar of Ranga Reddy district, was trapped while accepting bribe.  ACB registered a case and after a detailed inquiry submitted its report in 2011 with a request for permission to prosecute the accused officer. The Government did not agree to prosecution, instead, it ordered a departmental inquiry in 2014.  The inquiry has not yet started.  Since last 14 years, there has been no action on the Red hand trap case.

“The above cases are not isolated incidents. A large number of traps or disproportionate cases booked by ACB and reports sent to the Government for permission to prosecute are negated.  In the Secretariat, the reports of ACB are diluted, and instead of according permission to prosecute the case, it is delayed for a decade, and after that, it is ordered for departmental inquiry, or further action is dropped,” said FGG in an open letter to Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.

Forum for Good Governance President M. Padmanabha Reddy said that these cases represent a broader pattern where ACB reports are ‘diluted’ in the Secretariat. “The proof of the pudding is in the eating,” Reddy emphasized in the letter. “Unless the cases registered by ACB result in punishment for the accused, there is no value to ACB registrations. People are losing confidence in the government's ability to control corruption.”