In the tabled Lokpal Bill in the parliament, the government has proposed the following changes in the definition of public servant and has proposed the forfeiture of the property of corrupt official once he is arrested red handed or if Lokpal think so and the punishments have been extended :
The earlier definition of Public Servant as given under Prevention of Corruption Act 1988:
2.1
The definition of public servant has been enlarged so as to include
the
office-bearers of the registered co-operative societies receiving any
financial
aid from the government, of from a Government Corporation/
Company,
the employees of universities, Public Service Commissions,
and
Banks etc. Section 2 (c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988,
defines
the public servant as under:-
i)
Any person in the service or pay of the Government or remunerated
by
the Government by fees or commission for
the
performance of any public duty;
ii)
Any person in the service or pay of a local authority;
iii)
Any person in the service or pay of a corporation established
by
or under a Central, Provincial or State Act, or an
authority
or a body owned or controlled or aided by the
Government
or a Government company as defined in section
617
of the Companies Act, 1956;
iv)
Any judge, including any person empowered by law to discharge,
whether
by himself or as a member of any body of
persons,
any adjudicator functions;
v)
Any person authorised by a court of justice to perform any
duty,
in connection with the administration of justice, including
a
liquidator, receiver of commissioner appointed
by
such court;
vi)
Any arbitrator or other person to whom any cause or matter
has
been referred for decision or report by a court of
justice
or by a competent public authority;
vii)
Any person who holds an office by virtue of which he is
empowered
to prepare, publish, maintain or revise an electoral
roll
or to conduct an election or part of an election;
viii)
Any person who holds an office by virtue of which he is
authorised
or required to perform any public duty;
ix)
Any person who is the president, secretary or other office-
bearer
of a registered co-operative society engaged
in
agriculture, industry, trade or banking, receiving or
having
received any financial aid from the Central Government
or
a State Government or from any corporation
established
by or under a Central, Provincial or State
Act,
or any authority or body owned or controlled or
aided
by the Government or a Government company as
defined
in section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956;
x)
Any person who is a chairman, member of employee of
any
Service Commission or Board, by whatever name
called,
or a member of any selection committee appointed
by
such Commission or Board for the conduct of any
examination
or making any selection on behalf of such
Commission
or Board;
xi)
Any person who is a vice-chancellor or member of any
governing
body, professor, reader, lecturer or any other
teacher
or employee, by whatever designation called, of
any
University and any person whose services have been
availed
of by a University or any other public authority
in
connection with holding or conducting examinations;
xii)
Any person who is an office-bearer or an employee of an
educational,
scientific, social, cultural or other institution,
in
whatever manner established, receiving or having
received
any financial assistance from the Central
Government
or any State Government, or local or other
public
authority;
Explanation
1 - Persons falling under any of the above sub-clauses
are
public servants, whether appointed by the Government or not.
Explanation
2 - wherever the words .Public Servant occur, they
shall
be understood of every person who is in actual possession of the
situation
of a public servant, whatever legal defect there may be in his
right
to hold that situation.
The
following person or body have been added as public servant besides as given in
Prevention of Curuption Act
(g)
any person who is or has been a director, manager, secretary or other officer
of
every other society or association of persons or trust (whether registered
under
any
law for the time being in force or not) in receipt of any donation from the
public and
the
annual income of which exceeds such amount as the State Government may by
notification
specify or from any foreign source under the Foreign Contribution
(Regulation)
Act, 2010 in excess of ten lakh rupees in a year or such higher amount as
the
Central Government may by notification specify;
Explanation.—For
the purpose of clauses (f) and (g), it is herby clarified that any
entity
or institution, by whatever name called, corporate, society, trust, association
of persons,
partnership,
sole proprietorship, limited liability partnership (whether registered under
any
law
for the time being in force or not), shall be the entities covered in those
clauses:
Provided
that any person referred to in this clause shall be deemed to be a public
servant
under clause (c) of section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and the
provisions
of that Act shall apply accordingly:
(f)
any person who is or has been a director, manager, secretary or other officer
of every other society or
association of persons or trust (whether registered under
any law for the time being in
force or not), by whatever name called, wholly or partly
financed or aided by the State
Government and the annual income of which exceeds
such amount as the State
Government may by notification specify;
BIGGEST CHANGE IN
LOKPAL BILL : So far investing gating authority including CBI
had to take prior permission from ministry
against A&B officers(IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS, IRS etc)
or above under secretary under section 197 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
or section 6A of the
Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 or section 19 of
the Prevention of
Corruption Act, 1988 but in lokpal, no such prior permission is
required for any proceeding against any public
servant if Lokpal receives any complaint.
3.
Punishment and Penalty to Public Servants :
_________________________________________________________________
3.1.1
Section 7 of the PC Act, 1988, corresponds to repealed Section
161
IPC with the modification that the minimum punishment has
been
prescribed as imprisonment of six months and the maximum punishment
has
been increased from three years to five years. The relevant
section
is reproduced below:-
3.1.1(d)
The State Government or as the case may be, the Central Government
has
now the power to make an application to the District
Judge
for the attachment of the money or property which
is
believed to have been acquired by the public servant by corrupt
means;
New
provision have been added in Lokpal Bill for forfeiture of property of Accused
90. (1) Where the Lokayukta or any investigation officer
authorised by it in this behalf,
has reason to believe, the
reason for such belief to be recorded in writing, on the basis of
material in his possession,
that—
(a)
any person is in possession of any proceeds of corruption;
(b)
such person is accused of having committed an offence relating to corruption;
And
(c)
such proceeds of offence are likely to be concealed, transferred or dealt with
in any manner which may result
in frustrating any proceedings relating to confiscation
of such proceeds of offence, he
may, by order in writing, provisionally attach such
property for a period not
exceeding ninety days from the date of the order, in the
manner provided in the Second
Schedule to the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the Lokayukta
shall be deemed to be an
officer under sub-rule (e) of rule 1 of that Schedule.
(2)
The Lokayukta shall, immediately after attachment under sub-section (1),
forward
a copy of the order, along with
the material in his possession, referred to in that sub-section,
to the Special Court, in a
sealed envelope, in the manner as may be prescribed and such Court
may extend the order of
attachment and keep such material for such period as the Court may
deem fit.
(3)
Every order of attachment made under sub-section (1)
shall cease to have effect
after the expiry of the period
specified in that sub-section or after the expiry of the period as
directed by the Special Court
under sub-section (2).
(4)
Nothing in this section shall prevent the person interested in the enjoyment of
the
immovable property attached
under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), from such enjoyment.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section, "person
interested", in relation
to any immovable property,
includes all persons claiming or entitled to claim any interest in
the property.
AMENDMENTS
TO THE PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION ACT, 1988
(49
OF 1988)
1.
In sections 7, 8, 9 and section 12,—
(a)
for the words "six months", the words "three years" shall
respectively be
substituted;
(b)
for the words "five years", the words "seven years" shall
respectively be
substituted;
2.
In section 13, in sub-section (2), —
(a)
for the words "one year", the words "four years" shall be
substituted;
(b)
for the words "seven years", the words "ten years" shall be
substituted;
3.
In section 14,—
(a)
for the words "two years", the words "five years" shall be
substituted.
(b)
for the words "seven years", the words "ten years" shall be
substituted.
4.
In section 15, for the words "which may extend to three years", the
words "which
shall
not be less than two years but which may extend to five years" shall be
substituted.
5.
In section 19, after the words "except with the previous sanction",
the words "save
as
otherwise provided in the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2011" shall be
inserted.
