The Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government has decided to keep corruption cases against Central government employees — that are referred to it through the re-launched Anti Corruption helpline — as ‘pending’. According to data available with the department, of the total calls filtered through to it, 90 per cent relate to corruption cases against officials of the Central government — a trend which has repeated itself since the first time the helpline was launched in 2013. The ACB has decided to keep the cases as pending despite a recent Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order which had effectively curtailed the department’s powers to investigate any case against a Central government employee. Instead, the order had stated that the “1993 announcement permitting the ACB to probe cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act will be applicable to officials of the Delhi government only”. This notification was issued on July 23, 2014. [related-post] However, sources said, despite this cases will be investigated discreetly as and when they are received through the helpline. Further course of action in these cases will be determined based on directions from the Delhi government, sources said. Sources in the ACB said of the 59 calls it has been forwarded, 90 per cent of them are cases of corruption against Central government employees including against the Delhi Police, the Delhi Development Authority, the three municipal corporations and the New Delhi Municipal Council. “When the helpline — 1031 was re-launched on April 5 —Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said cases that reach the department through the helpline should be investigated irrespective of who they are against, if they have any evidence. Since the MHA notification is also binding, we have decided to keep the cases as pending till the Delhi government tells us the future course of action,” an ACB official said. Explaining this further, the official said, “The idea is for the helpline to act as a deterrent. Just as in 2013, when the helpline was launched, cases of corruption against government employees had drastically reduced and the fear of being recorded while accepting or seeking a bribe was prevalent in every department.” Sources said till the re-launch of the helpline, every complaint against a Central government employee was automatically referred to the concerned department. “Now, since the cases will be kept pending, the idea that a neutral and an autonomous department is keeping track of another department, will definitely be a deterrent,” the official said. By Wednesday, the helpline had received 26,712 calls. Sources said the helpline has also been receiving calls from people residing in the NCR region.
