Thiruvanthapuram: As many Vigilance preliminary inquiries and quick verifications have been dragging on for years despite the prescribed time limit of 45 days, Vigilance director Loknath Behera has issued fresh guidelines to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) officials to ensure that the process is completed without delay by following a systematic inquiry procedure.
The Vigilance director asked the VACB unit heads to review all quick verifications pending for more than 45 days and expedite the process. He also offered rewards to Vigilance and legal officials who initiate inquiries that eventually end in conviction. According to Mr. Behera, some of the inquiries and verifications were pending for more than three years. The normal time frame to dispose them of is 30 to 40 days. The upper limit of 45 days as per the present standing order is never adhered to, he pointed out.
He cited the lack of systematic procedures and instructions from unit heads as the reason for the delays. The objective would be to find out whether a cognizable offence took place. But in many cases, the inquiry officer would try to collect too many documents and statements of many persons. Hence the inquiries were getting delayed. Mr. Behera directed the inquiry officials and VACB unit heads to prepare action plans and set time limit for each step. Proper registration reports should also be maintained, he said.
