Central Vigilance Commission
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an important topic for the UPSC exam, as it is related to the governance, polity, and ethics aspects of the syllabus. The CVC is an apex vigilance institution in India, free of control from any executive authority, and monitors all vigilance activities under the Central government. It also advises the Central government organizations and Authorities in planning, implementing, reviewing, and reforming their vigilance work.
Some of the points that you should know about the CVC for the UPSC exam are:
a) The CVC was set up by the Government in February, 1964 on the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by Shri K. Santhanam.
b) In 2003, the Parliament enacted the CVC Act, conferring statutory status on the CVC.
c) The CVC is a multi-member commission consisting of a Central Vigilance Commissioner (Chairperson) and not more than two Vigilance Commissioners (Members).
d) The chairperson and the members are appointed by the President on the recommendations of a Committee consisting of the Prime Minister (Chairperson), the Minister of Home Affairs, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
e) The term of office of the chairperson and the members is four years from the date on which they enter their office or till they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
f) The CVC has all the powers of a civil court while conducting any inquiry.
g) The CVC receives complaints on corruption or misuse of office and to recommend appropriate action. It can also inquire into offences alleged to have been committed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 by certain categories of public servants.
h) The CVC is not an investigating agency. It either gets the investigation done through the CBI or through chief vigilance officers (CVO) in government offices.
i) The CVC submits its annual report to the President, which is then laid before both the Houses of Parliament.
According to the CVC (Procedure for Dealing with Complaints and Procedure of Inquiry) Regulations 2021, any person can file a complaint with the CVC alleging corruption or misuse of office by any public servant under the jurisdiction of the Commission. The complaint should be in written form or lodged online at the designated portal namely, portal.cvc.in or in the manner as laid down by the Commission from time to time in its Complaint Handling Policy³. The complaint should contain specific and verifiable allegations and supporting documents, if any. The complaint should also disclose the identity and address of the complainant and should not be anonymous or pseudonymous. The Commission may, in its discretion, pass orders for conduct of inquiry or investigation or dismiss the complaint.
A complaint cannot be filed against private individuals or companies with the CVC. The CVC has no jurisdiction over private individuals and organisations of the State Governments³. The CVC only deals with corruption or misuse of office by public servants under the jurisdiction of the Commission, which includes the Central Government, corporations established by or under any Central Act, Government companies, societies and local authorities owned or controlled by the Central Government. Therefore, if you want to file a complaint against a private entity, you will have to approach other authorities such as the police, the courts, or the Lokpal
Some of the important key points that can be asked in UPSC prelims and mains about CVC are:
- The CVC is an apex vigilance institution in India, free of control from any executive authority, and monitors all vigilance activities under the Central government. It also advises the Central government organizations and Authorities in planning, implementing, reviewing, and reforming their vigilance work.
- The CVC was set up by the Government in February, 1964 on the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by Shri K. Santhanam.
- In 2003, the Parliament enacted the CVC Act, conferring statutory status on the CVC.
- The CVC is a multi-member commission consisting of a Central Vigilance Commissioner (Chairperson) and not more than two Vigilance Commissioners (Members).
- The chairperson and the members are appointed by the President on the recommendations of a Committee consisting of the Prime Minister (Chairperson), the Minister of Home Affairs, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
- The term of office of the chairperson and the members is four years from the date on which they enter their office or till they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
- The CVC has all the powers of a civil court while conducting any inquiry.
- The CVC receives complaints on corruption or misuse of office and to recommend appropriate action. It can also inquire into offences alleged to have been committed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 by certain categories of public servants.
- The CVC is not an investigating agency. It either gets the investigation done through the CBI or through chief vigilance officers (CVO) in government offices.
- The CVC submits its annual report to the President, which is then laid before both the Houses of Parliament.
- The CVC has no jurisdiction over private individuals and organisations of the State Governments.
- The CVC has a portal for online lodging of complaints, namely, [portal.cvc.in], where any person can file a complaint with the CVC alleging corruption or misuse of office by any public servant under the jurisdiction of the Commission.
- The CVC also has a Whistle Blowers Protection Cell, which deals with the complaints received from whistleblowers under the Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Informers (PIDPI) Resolution
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