ACB upset over low conviction rate

Jadhav was the ninth top officer caught by the ACB in last four months in Pune. In last one year,the ACB has caught 74 officers from five districts — Pune,Kolhapur,Solapur,Sangli and Satara.

“One of the reasons behind low conviction rate is technical mistake committed by the sanctioning authority of the department whose official had been caught,” Doshi said. For instance,even if the sanctioning authority misspells the name in its official letter,the verdict goes against the ACB. “In such instances,the court says the sanctioning authority has not applied its mind properly while sanctioning the prosecution. Even if an alphabet in a name goes wrong,the verdict goes against us,” Doshi said.

Another factor in the ACB failing to get conviction is undue delay in filing chargesheet. “This happens because the sanction under Section 19 of Anti Corruption Act,1988,from the higher authority of that government servant who has been caught comes late. At times,two years,and even more.” In such cases more often than not,the witnesses turn hostile.

Despite the low convictions,the ACB isn’t ready to give a free run to government officials who have amassed assets disproportionate to their known sources of incomes. “In Pune,we have at least 100 government officers on our radar against whom secret and open investigations are on,” he said.

2008:12 convictions,51 acquittals
2009:6 convictions,30 acquittals
This year:15 verdicts,all acquittals