Prevention of Corruption Bill divides jurists

Chennai: The Centre's bid to amend the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013 has triggered a debate among jurists divided in their opinions.
In a discussion Madras Bar Association (MBA) organised on Friday , B Sriramulu, senior advocate and former public prosecutor, said the new amendment was an attempt to dilute the existing provisions, which had been effective to prosecute corrupt officials.He opposed the provision, which now requires permission to initiate an inquiry .
Senior advocate V Gopinath, however, welcomed inclusion of commercial organisations in the bill.“Big corporates who bribe public servants can now be prosecuted,“ he said. Gopinath opposed the exclusion of Section 24 of the Act, which provided protection to those giving bribes. People are often compelled to bribe and in the absence of protection, few will come forward to lodge a complaint, he said.
Senior advocates I Subramanian and S Ashokumar were critical of the new provisions. Public prosecutor and senior counsel S Shanmugavelayudham appreciated the requirement of prior sanction to prosecute a retired public servant.This will safeguard honest officials from harassment after retirement, he said.
Advocate N R Elango, a former special public prosecutor for CBI, said inclusion of the term “intentionally enriches“ would make prosecution for the offence of disproportionate assets cumbersome.
He said the explanation clause “known sources of income“ for which “re ceipts had been intimated in accordance with the pro visions of law“ was removed. This would allow corrupt officers to submit a belated explanation for their sources of income.The amendments will not help prevent corruption, he said.
Madras Bar Association president R Shunmugasundaram said the suggestions would be forwarded to the select committee of Parliament. The discussions will continue on Monday, he said.