Central Vigilance Commission

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Central Vigilance Commission

An autonomous body overview

Formed February,1964

Jurisdiction Government of India

Headquarters New Delhi, India

Employees 257[1]

 Shri K V Chowdary [2], Central

An autonomous
Vigilance Commissioner -
body executive
Chairperson

Parent an Ministry of Personnel, Public

 autonomous body Grievances and Pensions

Website cvc.nic.in

Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body created in 1964 to
address governmental corruption. It has the status of an autonomous body, free of control from any
executive authority, charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of
India, advising various authorities in central Government organizations in planning, executing,
reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.
It was set up by the Government of India in February, 1964 on the recommendations of
the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by Shri K. Santhanam, to advise and guide
Central Government agencies in the field of vigilance.[3] Nittoor Srinivasa Rau, was selected as the
first Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India.
The Annual Report of the CVC not only gives the details of the work done by it but also brings out
the system failures which leads to corruption in various Departments/Organisations, system
improvements, various preventive measures and cases in which the Commission's advises were
ignored etc.
The Commission shall consist of:

 A Central Vigilance Commissioner - Chairperson;

 Not more than two Vigilance Commissioners - Members;
The current Central Vigilance Commissioner is Mr. K.V. Chowdary, and among the two Vigilance
Commissioners, one is Mr. Rajiv former Director General of CISF[4] and the other is Shri T.M.
Bhasin.[5]

Contents
[hide]

 1Role
 2Appointment
 3Oath or affirmation
 4Removal
 5Organisation
o 5.1Secretariat
o 5.2Chief Technical Examiners' Wing (CTE)
o 5.3Commissioners for Departmental Inquiries (CDI)
o 5.4The Directorate General of Vigilance
 6Right to Information (RTI)
 7Limitations of CVC
 8Controversies
o 8.1Supreme court quashes appointment of CVC
o 8.2Whistleblower protection
o 8.3Petition against appointment of K V Chowdary
 9New initiatives
 10See also
 11References
 12External links

Role[edit]
The CVC is not an investigating agency.
The only investigation carried out by the CVC is that of examining Civil Works of the Government
which is done.[6]
Corruption investigations against government officials can proceed only after the government
permits them. The CVC publishes a list of cases where permissions are pending, some of which
may be more than a year old.[7]
The Ordinance of 1998 conferred statutory status to the CVC and the powers to exercise
superintendence over functioning of the Delhi Special Police Establishment, and also to review the
progress of the investigations pertaining to alleged offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act,
1988 conducted by them. In 1998 the Government introduced the CVC Bill in the Lok Sabha in order
to replace the Ordinance, though it was not successful. The Bill was re-introduced in 1999 and
remained with the Parliament till September 2003, when it became an Act after being duly passed in
both the Houses of Parliament.[8] The CVC has also been publishing a list of corrupt government
officials against which it has recommended punitive action.[9]

Appointment[edit]
The Central Vigilance Commissioner and the Vigilance Commissioners shall be appointed by the
President on recommendation of a Committee consisting of the Prime Minister (Chairperson), the
Minister of Home Affairs (Member) and the Leader of the Opposition in the House of the People
(Member).

Oath or affirmation[edit]
The Central Vigilance Commissioner and a Vigilance Commissioner, before he enters upon his
office, is required to make and subscribe to following oath or affirmation:
I, <name>, having been appointed Central Vigilance Commissioner (or Vigilance Commissioner) of
the Central Vigilance Commission do swear in the name of God (or solemnly affirm) that I will bear
true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the
sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my ability,
knowledge and judgment perform the duties of my office without fear or favor, affection or ill-will and
that I will uphold the constitution and the laws.

— The Schedule of the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003

Removal[edit]
The Central Vigilance Commissioner or any Vigilance Commissioner can be removed from his office
only by order of the President on the ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity after the Supreme
Court, on a reference made to it by the President, has, on inquiry, reported that the Central Vigilance
Commissioner or any Vigilance Commissioner, as the case may be, ought to be removed. The
President may suspend from office, and if deem necessary prohibit also from attending the office
during inquiry, the Central Vigilance Commissioner or any Vigilance Commissioner in respect of
whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court until the President has passed orders on
receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference. The President may, by order, remove
from office the Central Vigilance Commissioner or any Vigilance Commissioner if the Central
Vigilance Commissioner or such Vigilance Commissioner, as the case may be:
 is adjudged an insolvent; or
 has been convicted of an offence which, in the opinion of the Central Government, involves
moral turpitude; or
 engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office; or
 is, in the opinion of the President, unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or
body; or
 has acquired such financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially his functions as a
Central Vigilance Commissioner or a Vigilance Commissioner.[10]

Organisation[edit]
The CVC is headed by a Central Vigilance Commissioner who is assisted by two Vigilance
Commissioners.[1]
The Central Vigilance Commission has its own Secretariat, Chief Technical Examiners' Wing (CTE)
and a wing of Commissioners for Departmental Inquiries (CDI).
As on 21 March 2012, CVC has a staff strength of 257 against sanctioned strength of 299 (including
the post of CVC and 2 VCs)[1]
Secretariat[edit]
The Secretariat consists of a Secretary of the rank of Additional Secretary to the Govt of India, one
officer of the rank of Joint Secretary to the Govt of India, ten officers of the rank of Director/Deputy
Secretary, four Under Secretaries and office staff.[11]
Chief Technical Examiners' Wing (CTE)[edit]
The Chief Technical Examiner's Organisation constitutes the technical wing of the Central Vigilance
Commission and has two Engineers of the rank of Chief Engineers (designated as Chief Technical
Examiners) with supporting engineering staff. Following are the main functions of this organisation:

 Technical audit of construction works of Governmental organisations from a vigilance angle

 Investigating specific cases of complaints relating to construction works
 Assisting the CBI in their investigations involving technical matters and for evaluation of
properties in Delhi and
 Assisting the Commission and Chief Vigilance Officers in vigilance cases involving technical
matters.[11]
Commissioners for Departmental Inquiries (CDI)[edit]
There are fourteen posts of Commissioners for Departmental Inquiries (CDI) in the Commission, 11
in the rank of Director and 03 in the rank of Deputy Secretary. The CDIs function as Inquiry Officers
to conduct inquiries in departmental proceedings initiated against public servants.[11]
The Directorate General of Vigilance[edit]
The Directorate General of Vigilance, Income Tax is the apex body under the Central Board of Direct
Taxes for the vigilance matters. The Directorate General interfaces with the Central Vigilance
Commission, the Central Bureau of Investigation, field formations of CBDT who are also having their
Vigilance wings and others in all the matters relating to Vigilance, preliminary investigation of
complaints, obtaining CVC/CVO’s first stage advice, wherever required, assistance to Ministry in
issuance of charge sheets, monitoring the charge sheet issued by the Disciplinary authorities in the
field, monitoring of progress in inquiry proceedings, processing of enquiry reports, obtaining
CVC/CVO’s second stage advice, wherever required and communication thereof to Disciplinary
authorities and monitoring compliance/implementation of the advice.
Right to Information (RTI)[edit]
Main article: Right to Information Act
CVC is a public authority as defined in the Right to Information Act and hence it is obliged to provide
information requested by any citizen of India. Any interested citizen can seek specific information as
per the procedure laid down by RTI Act.[12]

Limitations of CVC[edit]
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expansion. You can help by adding to
it. (April 2012)

 CVC is only an advisory body. Central Government Departments are free to either accept or
reject CVC's advice in corruption cases.[13]
 CVC does not have adequate resources compared with number of complaints that it receives. It
is a very small set up with a sanctioned staff strength of 299.[1] Whereas, it is supposed to check
corruption in more than 1500 central government departments and ministries.[14]
 CVC cannot direct CBI to initiate inquiries against any officer of the level of Joint Secretary and
above on its own. Such a permission has to be obtained from the concerned department.
 CVC does not have powers to register criminal case. It deals only with vigilance or disciplinary
cases.[15]
 CVC has supervisory powers over CBI. However, CVC does not have the power to call for any
file from CBI or to direct CBI to investigate any case in a particular manner. CBI is under
administrative control of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which means that, the
powers to appoint, transfer, suspend CBI officers lie with DoPT.[13]
 Appointments to CVC are indirectly under the control of Govt of India, though the leader of the
Opposition (in Lok Sabha) is a member of the Committee to select CVC and VCs. But the
Committee considers candidates put up before it. These candidates are decided by the
Government.[10]
As a result, although CVC is relatively independent in its functioning, it has neither resources nor
powers to inquire and take action on complaints of corruption that may act as an effective deterrence
against corruption.[16]

Controversies[edit]
Supreme court quashes appointment of CVC[edit]
PJ Thomas was appointed as the Chief Vigilance Commissioner in September 2010, on the
recommendation of a High Powered Committee (HPC) headed by the Prime Minister of India. The
selection of the new CVC was marked by controversies, after Sushma Swaraj, who was part of
three-member selection committee, objected to the choice of Thomas, citing the
pending chargesheet against him. A public interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court of
India by Centre for Public Interest Litigation and India Rejuvenation Initiative.[17]
On March 3, 2011, the Supreme Court quashed the appointment of Thomas as the Chief Vigilance
Commissioner, noting that the HPC did not consider the relevant materials on the
pending chargesheet.[18] Subsequently, Mr Thomas resigned.[19]
Whistleblower protection[edit]
Main article: Whistleblower protection in India
A few years after the murder of IIT Kanpur alumnus NHAI engineer Satyendra Dubey, the CVC
launched an initiative to protect whistleblowers. However, this program has been criticized by ex-
Chief Justice of India R.C. Lahoti as being ineffective. He said that he had on previous occasions
through his NGO India Rejuvenation Initiative, tried to draw the attention of high officials in the CVC
to the unsatisfactory manner of its functioning, but with no results.[20]
Petition against appointment of K V Chowdary[edit]
Before K V Chowdary's appointment, eminent Supreme Court lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Ram
Jethmalani[21] as well as eminent lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan[22] raised a red flag, asking
the Prime Minister not to go ahead with his appointment,[23] raising severe objections on Chowdary's
tenure as CBDT Chief. After Chowdary being appointed, Jethmalani expressed disappointment and
wrote a letter to Narendra Modi questioning Chowdhary's credentials.[24] NGO Common Cause
represented by Prashant Bhushan has filed a petition in Supreme Court of India challenging K V
Chowdary's appointment as CVC and T M Bhasin's appointment as VC on 22 July.[25]

New initiatives[edit]
The following initiatives have been taken by CVC:- 1. National Anticorruption Strategy 2. Leveraging
Technology to Prevent Corruption 3. Integrity in Public procurement 4. Awareness Campaign 5.
Provision for Whistle Blowers 6. Improving the Standard of Vigilance Work 7. Computerisation of
Commission’s Work 8. Modern Preventive Vigilance Framework 9. International Cooperation. etc.[26]