Corrupt elements in the higher echelons of the government and political parties are a greater menace to society than even hired killers, the Supreme Court has held, delivering a scathing indictment of corruption in public life.
“If the society in a developing country faces a menace greater than even the one from the hired assassins to its law and order, then that is from the corrupt elements at the higher echelons of the government and of the political parties,” noted a bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan.
The bench made these strong observations while rejecting anticipatory bail to Devinder Kumar Bansal, an audit inspector in the Punjab government, accused of demanding bribes in exchange for auditing development works carried out by a village panchayat.
Condemning the entrenched nature of corruption, the bench stated: “If one is asked to name one sole factor that effectively arrested the progress of our society to prosperity, undeniably it is corruption.” The court noted that corruption is often allowed to flourish with impunity, particularly among high-ranking individuals, leading to economic unrest and a breakdown in public trust.
“If even a fraction of what was the vox populi about the magnitude of corruption to be true, then it would not be far removed from the truth, that it is the rampant corruption indulged in with impunity by highly placed persons that has led to economic unrest in this country,” said the bench in its judgment on Monday, released on Tuesday evening.
Drawing historical parallels, the court cited the words of British statesman Edmund Burke, “Among a people generally corrupt, liberty cannot last long”, and lamented that corruption remains unchecked despite its well-documented consequences.
Dismissing Bansal’s plea, the Supreme Court laid down stringent parameters for granting pre-arrest bail in corruption cases, ruling that it should be permitted only in “exceptional circumstances where the court is prima facie of the view that the applicant has been falsely enroped in the crime or the allegations are politically motivated or frivolous.” It clarified that Bansal’s case did not meet these criteria, making the denial of bail justified.
The court stressed that “over solicitous homage to the accused’s liberty can, sometimes, defeat the cause of public justice”, adding that if denying liberty to an accused ensures a corruption-free society, then courts should not hesitate in denying such liberty.
In rejecting his plea, the top court noted that while the presumption of innocence is an important principle, it cannot be the sole consideration for the grant of anticipatory bail. It held that the need to maintain public trust in governance outweighs individual liberty in corruption cases.
The bench further clarified that actual exchange of a bribe is not essential for prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act. “Those public servants who do not take a bribe directly but through middlemen or touts, and those who accept valuable things from persons with whom they have or are likely to have official dealings, are also punishable,” the judgment read.
Bansal, an audit inspector, is accused of soliciting illegal gratification for auditing development projects undertaken during the tenure of the complainant’s wife as the sarpanch of a village panchayat. According to the prosecution, co-accused Prithvi Singh allegedly collected the bribe on behalf of Bansal.
A first information report (FIR) was registered against him in January this year under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, at the Vigilance Bureau, Police Station, Patiala. His plea for anticipatory bail had already been rejected by the Punjab and Haryana high court before he approached the Supreme Court.