Theme: Anti-Corruption

What will happen if a public servant does a favour, but not through any specific action of mine? Will this be considered as corruption?

You can still be punished if you took the money and made the person who bribed you, believe that you were responsible for the favour. For example, you take Rs. 20,000 from Ravi after making him believe that he got the job with the Forest Department because of your connections with the head of the Forest Department. Even if you did not actually have any connections with the head of the Forest Department, you will still be breaking this law.

Can I be punished under the anti-corruption law even if I was not successful in committing the crime?

Yes, if you as a public servant try to steal or sell property given to you as part of your work or take gifts or money unlawfully, you can be punished. It does not matter that you did not succeed. You can be sent to jail for a period of 3 to 7 years and can also be asked to pay a fine.

Example: Mukesh is a police officer. His superior officer has given him gold jewelry for safekeeping, which was returned by a thief during police questioning. Mukesh tries to sell it to Ravi, but the senior officer sees them and stops him. Even though Mukesh failed he is still breaking this law.

Public Servant

You are a public servant if you are:

  • Working for the government
  • Your salary is paid by the government
  • The work you do is a public duty

You can also be considered a public servant if you are:

  • Working for and are being paid by a local authority like a municipality or panchayat.
  • Employed in educational or cultural institutes which get money from the central, state or local government (like the panchayat).
  • A co-operative society engaged in agriculture, industry, trade or banking, and the co-operative society is receiving money from:
    • the government, or
    • a company created by laws passed by the government, or
    • a company that is owned or controlled by the government or aided by the government, or
    • a company in which the government is the majority shareholder.
  • Employed by and being paid by:
    • a company established under central or state laws (for example, the Life Insurance Corporation), or
    • a company which is aided by, owned or controlled by the government, or
    • a company where the government is the majority shareholder (for example, the Air India Limited).

Public Servants Accepting Bribes

Corruption is the abuse of power by people in power for their own gain in a dishonest or unethical way. In India, it is illegal for public servants to accept money/gifts over and above their salary, in return for doing their duty, favoring a person or for not doing their duty. Any person helping the public servant commit these crimes can also be punished.

Public servants in India are not allowed to:

  • Accept money/gifts other than the salary provided as part of their job;
  • Ask for or get money/gifts, in addition to their salary, in return for doing their official duty;
  • Ask for or get money/gifts, in addition to their salary, in return for not doing their official duty;
  • Be partial to someone who has paid them money or give them gifts;
  • Do any special favours for someone who has offered them money or gifts;
  • You can be sent to jail for a period of 3 to 7 years and be asked to pay a fine for doing any of the above.

A public servant breaks the law by accepting any gift or benefit, not just money. You are breaking the law if you, as a public servant, accept something of value from a person without paying for the gift/service and with whom you have a business or official relationship. You can be sent to jail for a period of 6 months to 5 years and may also have to pay a fine.

Example: You are a public servant working in the Public Works Department and are in-charge of approving tender for road construction. You accept a car from Ravi without paying him any money. You know that his company will apply to your department for approval of a contract to build a highway. If Ravi is given the approval, accepting the car would be considered as accepting a bribe.

Influencing Public Servants to Commit Crimes

You are breaking the law if you as a public servant help someone commit the crime of influencing public servants. It does not matter that the public servant did not actually act on the influence exerted on him/her. The mere fact of the influence is a crime. You can be sent to jail for a period of 3 years to 7 years along with a fine.

Example: If I, as a District Magistrate, influence the Chief Engineer to favour a friend in a road construction tender, whether my friend gets the tender doesn’t matter, the magistrate can still be punished for just the influencing part.