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Central Vigilance Commission
India is a vast and populous nation with its own positives and negatives. One of the main problems that it has faced in the recent decades is that of corruption. The most alarming of all corruptions are the ones conducted in the government offices by the very people who are responsible for enacting and maintaining the law. The growing institutional corruption even by top ranking politicians and bureaucrats is the biggest threat to the aspirations of this country and it desperately needed a body that dealt with such threats. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) was formed as an apex governmental body in 1964 in order to tackle governmental corruption. It is considered to be an autonomous body that is free to act on its own even in case of sensitive matters and it is supposed to be free from any executive control by higher authorities or ministries. It monitors all vigilance activities under the Central Government of India and consults with various other bodies regarding the same. It came into existence in 1964 following the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption which was an independent committee to explore the scenario of corruption and advise the Central Government on how to tackle it.The CVC prepares an annual report where it explains every action taken by it in the passing years and explores the systemic errors that are resulting in corruption.
Main functions of CVC
Unlike other law enforcement divisions such as the police and the intelligence, the CVC is not supposed to be an investigating agency. If it wants any such use of force, it does that through the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI. It can proceed with corruption investigations against any government official or body only after it is permitted by the government. It does maintain a list if cases with pending permissions. At the same time it also maintains a list of corrupt officials against which it has recommended action. However it is not supposed to take any punitive action itself. It can only recommend and the action has to be taken by other relevant bodies and the judiciary.
The Central Vigilance Commissioner enjoys a great deal of power and immunity. The CVC can only be removed by an order of the President in case of any misbehaviour or impropriety and that too is possible after a thorough investigation is done and the allegation has been proven in the Supreme Court. Once proven, the President can suspend the CVC and can also prohibit him or her from attending the office through the course of the inquiry for practical reasons.
But despite of all these powers, the impact of the CVC remains limited. This is because as discussed earlier, it merely remains an advisory body. It merely suggests actions to the Central Government which is free to either accept or ignore the same. It requires permission to act and cases sometimes remain pending for years due to lack of permission. Also, it cannot take and direct action all by itself, nor can it punish anyone. It cannot even directly ask the CBI to act against anyone. Also, the CVC committee is actually under government control although it is supposed to be autonomous because it is eventually the Central Government that decides the members of this committee.
Despite these limitations the Centre Vigilance Commission is an important body in the administrative machinery of India. It plays a major part in monitoring and controlling administrative corruption and a slightly more empowered commission may do wonders for the country.