Tag: Corruption & Governance

Criminal Cases should be registered against police officers taking ‘mamool’- Madras High Court

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-Report by Rhea Mistry

The Madras High Court recently in K. Kumarodass vs. The Principal Secretary to Government, remanded the police for corruption. Mr. K Kumaradoss, the petitioner is a retired Special Sub Inspector of Police. He was first admitted as GR-II Police Constable in the year 1977 and later promoted to the level of Special Sub Inspector of police. The special Sub Inspector was permitted to retire from his service in the year 2010. During the service of Mr. K Kumaradoass in the police, a memo was charged against him alleging that he had collected a Mamool of Rs 50/- twice in a week from Mr. Ravi who was running a bunk shop not far away from a TUSMAC shop. The memo that was charged against Mr. K Kumaradoss stated that he was alleged for misconduct. The materials, list of documents, and the statement of the witnesses proved the same.


Considering the evidence and the statements of the witnesses, the court had appointed an inquiry officer to investigate the matter. The accused was allowed to be a part of the inquiry process. The inquiry officer made a report after the cross-examination of the witnesses and the documents, stating that the allegation stands true. The Disciplinary Authority instituted a punishment of reduction in his time scale pay by three stages for three years and said that the period of reduction shall function to delay three years’ worth of future increases. Mr. K Kumaradoss went for an appeal which was rejected and so he filed a writ petition challenging the order of his punishment of reduction of time scale pay.

This writ petition is against

  • The Principal Secretary of Government,
  • The Director of Police
  • The Commissioner of Police
  • The Dy. Commissioner of Police

Contentions by the Petitioner

The learned counsel of the petitioner presented that the petitioner, Mr. K Kumaradoss has a record of 35 years’ service without any bad record, or a mark made upon him. He has been very devoted and ethical to his service. The allegation made against him is false and a proper inquiry was not conducted as there was no bunk shop close to the TUSMAC shop as stated. The petitioner’s counsel also advanced the circular issued on 25th May 2010 by the Director-General of the Police that any punishments can be seamlessly integrated out when the officer is still on duty and service preventing the imposition of sanctions that will be impossible or difficult to carry out in future. And the punishment implemented on the writ petitioner was not during his service, but it was imposed at the furthermost point in his retirement, so such punishment cannot be imposed on the petitioner.

The writ petition prayed that the order of his punishment is quashed and he is promoted to the position of SSI effective from April 9th, 2010, with all services and retirement benefits.

Contentions by the Respondents

The respondents learned special government counsel argued the contentions of the writ petitioner. Respondents stated that the punishment imposed on the petitioner was during the period of his full-time service and not during the furthermost point in his retirement. And so, the circular relied upon does not apply to this punishment.

Another statement the learned special government counsel made is that the allegation raised against the petitioner is a corruption charge and is a serious crime made by the officer. It is serious and the same should be taken seriously. The counsel had cross-examined the witnesses and the reports submitted by the inquiring officer, they presented that the charges were proved and true that the petitioner was taking a Mamool of Rs 50/- twice a week from Mr. Ravi. According to the reports and cross-examination, the order of the punishment was implemented, so the writ petition of the petitioner is to be rejected.

RATIO DECIDENDI

During the deposition, various facts and truths have come forward. The complainant, Mr. Ravi, the owner of the bunk shop confessed that he is regularly paying Mamool to the constables twice a week. The petitioner too confessed that he is collecting Mamool from him. Mr. Ravi also revealed that he was threatened by the petitioner and had to pay Rs. 100/- as Mamool to him when asked by him. Another witness Mr. Thiru Mani agreed that the constables are collecting Mamool regularly. A Police Officer also deposed about the collection of Mamool by the constables. The report submitted by the inquiry officer held that the materials presented were true to the fact and stated that after a thorough and proper inquiry, it was found that the bunk shop owner was paying Mamool to the constables. Looking at all the points and statements of the witnesses and the reports, it was held that the complaint against the writ petitioner is actionable and imposed the punishment.

DECISION

The court in this matter stated that reviewing the punishment implemented on the petitioner for the crime of collecting a Mamool, the authority is not taking corruption charges seriously. In this case, there was no criminal charge registered against the petitioner by the owner of the bunk shop. The authority does not seem to be concerned about the collection of Mamool by their officers.

Regarding the severity of the punishment imposed, the court does not identify any flaws and perversities in light of the facts and circumstances presented. This court also said that the court has the power of judicial review by Article 226 of the Constitution to ensure that the procedure followed by the authority to get to the decision taken by them is by the rules and regulations provided, but not the actual decision.

This court stated that there should be honesty and integrity in the public servants while doing their duties and responsibilities as to no allegation of corruption can be made against them. The public servants of the country are given a decent and enough salary. The competitiveness that has increased in comparing their salary with the employees of the private sector is what is driving them to be corrupt. They held that the authorities are not considering the seriousness of the corruption of their officers and public servants. There have been various judgments and debates regarding corruption. A change should be brought that will prevent the public servants from corruption. In light of the above, the court will send instructions and circulars stating that for any conduct of corruption, there should be a criminal case registered against the police officials who have collected the Mamool.

And for the writ petition, the decision of the punishment is not perverse and the charges against the petitioner are proved to be correct without any perversity. The writ petition therefore fails and stands dismissed.

Constitution & Corruption

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This article is written by Sambavi Marwah, a fourth-year law student, from Delhi Metropolitan Education, GGISPU.

INTRODUCTION

This article talks about corruption and its influence on the provisions of the Indian Constitution.  It gives a fair understanding of corruption, laws to prevent it and its impact on Governance and Socio-Economic Rights as well.

Meaning of Corruption

Corruption can be defined as the dishonest behaviour of a person, who uses his position or power to engage in illegal activities like taking bribes, money laundering, defrauding investors, embezzlement etc. Corruption not only affects the people involved in the illegal transaction but also hampers the economy, public relations and escalates discrepancies in the income.

Corruption has in some way become a way of life, which makes it easier for people to earn fast money and get their things easily done without any fuss. Thus, the act of corruption can tempt anyone, whether a politician, a corporate entity or a professional like a lawyer or an accountant.   

Laws Laid Down to Prevent Corruption

In India, the laws which deal with corruption are as follows:

  • The Indian Penal Code, 1860
  • Prevention of Corruption 1988
  • Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013
  • Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 200
  • Service rules for people working under the government (government officials)

Effect of Corruption  

Corruption not only affects the individual but also the society and the economy at a large scale. It affects the society by hampering the quality of services being provided, leads to chances of unemployment, illegal activities of corruption leads to injustice, lack of faith in the government officials, etc. 

Engaging in corruption not only affects the society but also the economy as activities such as accepting bribes, insider trading or money laundering curbs the growth of the person which leads to delay in the economy’s growth, low literacy rate, thus exposing the economy to a currency crisis. 

Constitution and Corruption  

The Constitution is known to be the supreme law of the nation. India’s constitution lays down various fundamental rights, fundamental duties, directive principles, etc. to protect the rights of the citizens of the state. The main essence of the Indian constitution is the provision of equal opportunities and justice to the state and its people. 

The Fundamental Rights mentioned in Part III, protect the interests of the citizens, whereas the Directive Principles of the State Policy (Part IV) guide the state to function properly and ensure justice to the people. 

The basic definition of rights is the entitlement of a human being to have or to do something. It is the duty of the government to protect the basic legal rights of citizens in order to provide justice and maintain equality. 

There are for types of rights:

  • Political rights
  • Social rights
  • Economic rights and 
  • Cultural rights

Social justice is the main one of the basic structure of the Indian Constitution. It is enshrined in the Constitution in the form of Directive Principles of the State Policy, which lay down the social and economic conditions for the citizens to live a good life and provide the guidelines for the states to make laws and policies for the welfare of the nation.

Corruption & Governance

Corruption which is said to be a termite in the system has a great impact on the governance of the state. A nation works for the welfare, development and growth of the citizens. It is an obligation for the country to protect an individual’s rights, in order to help the economy rise and shine. Good governance requires transparency, which may lack if the public servants or the people working in organizations fail to follow.

The practice of corruption exists at different levels, money being exchanged under the table or a person accepting bribes can be found at various level of an organization, whether a public or a private one. It sometimes creates a system where money or power determines access to the services and who receives it. Once it is found that an official accepted a bribe to get the work done, it makes the citizen lose his faith and belief in the working of the system.

Corruption can reach many levels of governance and hamper all its aspects to a great extent. A politician distributing money to the poor in the name of getting elected, an inspector accepting money or a judge giving the judgment in the favor of a criminal are a few examples where corruption has a great impact on governance. Therefore, controlling the practice of corruption is important to achieve good governance and maintain the trust and faith of the people.

Corruption & Socio-Economic Rights

Social and economic rights are the rights which provide protection for the well-being of an individual. These rights help to maintain one’s dignity and ensure the provision of justice to all the citizens.

Examples of Socio-Economic Rights:

  • Right to education
  • Right to adequate living
  • Right to fair wages
  • Right to health, etc.

Corruption negatively impacts the enjoyment of all social and economic rights. It creates loopholes in the working of the government sectors. The state is said to be the protector of the human rights as it provides legality to such rights and makes sure that justice is not denied to any individual, whether rich or poor, male or female, young or old, etc.

It impacts the ability of the State to protect and fulfil its human rights obligations and to deliver relevant services, including a functioning judiciary, law enforcement, health, education, and social services. 

Therefore the fight against corruption is not only an individual’s concern but also a major trouble for the society as it damages the well-being of various sectors of the society. It acts as a hindrance in the route to achievement of growth and development of an individual. 

CONCLUSION

Corruption is one of the main reasons as to why people do not have faith in the system. It not only affects the people involved in the illegal transaction but also hampers the economy and public relations. It is evident that corruption results in discrimination and has a negative impact on the governance of the system. To completely curb the problem of corruption, strict actions should be taken against the people being involved in such cases. 

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