Less than 1% of petitions filed with DVAC sent for preliminary inquiry

DVAC received 21,660 petitions in 1.5 years, investigating corruption cases against public servants with low conversion rates.

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has received 21,660 petitions from the public in the last one and half years — January 1, 2023 to June 1, 2024.

Out of them, only 45 petitions were taken up for preliminary inquiry, according to a reply obtained by a Right to Information Act (RTI) activist, R. Karthikeyan.

DVAC investigates cases — under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and its 2018 amendment — against public servants, and employees of public sector undertakings, Corporations and local bodies owned or controlled by the State government.

The agency handles cases by conducting surprise checks in government offices, initiating vigilance reports on corrupt practices, conducting preliminary inquiry, detailed inquiry and regular case -- registration of FIR and investigation based on complaints/petitions received from the public.

Out of the 21,660 petitions received in the last one and half years, nine were converted into detailed inquiry. Only two petitions were converted into regular cases, said the RTI reply given to Mr. Karthikeyan.

It added that 145 cases ended in conviction and 56 in acquittal during the period. In the 56 cases, appeals were filed in six.

“Less than 1% of the petitions have been taken up for preliminary inquiry. Average time needed for a petition to be reduced to FIR is 1.5 years, as per the Section 17A of Prevention of Corruption Act and sanction protocols. Section 17A of the Act protects public servants from frivolous investigations and calls for prior approval from a competent authority for any police investigation into a public servant’s alleged offence. A police officer must seek prior approval from a competent authority before conducting an investigation into a public servant’s alleged offence,” said Mr. Karthikeyan.