INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Priyank Ladoia, Asif Ahmed, Pranav Tomar and Puneet Dhanoa, AZB & Partners
1.3 Guidelines for the Interpretation and Enforcement of National Legislation There are no specific guidelines for interpreta - tion or enforcement of the national legislation on anti-corruption. However, Indian courts have interpreted these statutes and have monitored their enforcement on a case-by-case basis. The Supreme Court and various High Courts have been seized of challenges to the constitutionality of certain provisions/amendments to the PCA, and have been called upon to interpret these provisions or to issue guidelines on the time - lines and the procedure of trial under such anti- corruption legislation/provisions. The Supreme Court has, time and again, reit - erated the importance of enforcement of anti- corruption laws and the menace such corruption causes in a society. All cases under the PCA are tried by special judges to fast-track the trial, leading to early disposal of cases. The oversight of special judges in the investigation and trial ensures that the investigating agencies are kept on their toes when it comes to such cases, and that the cases do not get lost in the barrage of cases pending in Indian courts. The Supreme Court regularly monitors the performance of such courts, and these statistics are uploaded on the National Judicial Data Grid. More importantly, the Central Vigilance Commis - sion (CVC) supervises corruption cases relating to public servants. In 2023, the CVC released its annual report, which stated that as many as 6,903 corruption cases probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) were pending tri - als in different courts, 361 of these having been pending for more than 20 years. The CBI has a CBI Manual, revised in 2020, which lays down the guidelines for the CBI to conduct investigations, and which deals with
laundering” under the PMLA. In Directorate of Enforcement v Padmanabhan Kishore, reported at 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1490, the Supreme Court held that a bribe-giver is a party connect - ed to the proceeds of crime and would therefore be liable for prosecution under the PMLA. India also enacted the Black Money (Undis - closed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposi - tion of Tax Act, 2015 (the “Black Money Act”) to deal with undisclosed foreign income and assets. The statute provides procedures for dealing with such income and assets, and for imposition of tax on any undisclosed foreign income and asset held outside India. Another important step in dealing with corrup - tion was the enactment of the Benami Transac - tions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 to deal with trans - actions in which property is illegally held by one person on behalf of another person. In 2013, India also passed the Lokpal and Lok - ayuktas Act, 2013 (the “Lokpal Act”), establish - ing the Lokpal body for the Union and Lokayukta for states, to inquire into allegations of corrup - tion against certain public functionaries, includ -
ing (among others): • the Prime Minister; • cabinet ministers; • members of parliament; and
• Group A officials of the Central Government. A public official (ie, a government servant or employee of any corporation or any other body controlled or owned by the government) is pro - hibited from accepting any foreign contribution under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.
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