The Kerala High Court has issued observations and directives emphasizing that the Director General of Police and the Director of the Vigilance & Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) must ensure that only competent officers are posted to the VACB. The court made these remarks in the course of hearing a petition challenging vigilance proceedings initiated against two government officials for alleged demand of bribe in connection with fixing the value of land assignment. The petitioners contended that the prosecution case was factually baseless, given that the valuation report predated the alleged demand, and argued that the proceedings amounted to abuse of process.
While addressing the legal contentions, Justice A. Badharudeen noted that there was a fundamental error in the investigating officer’s framing of the offence, especially since the provision under Section 7(a) of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act was deleted and yet subsequent proceedings relied on a charge under Section 15. The court remarked that such serious and dangerous mistakes in corruption investigations should not emanate from officers posted in vigilance roles. According to the court, the correctness and integrity of investigations in anti‐corruption cases are critical to public trust, and errors of this nature may cause irreparable harm to both the accused and the system.
Consequently, the High Court directed that a copy of this order be forwarded to the Director General of Police and the Director of VACB at Thiruvananthapuram, with instructions to ensure that competent officers are henceforth appointed to the VACB. The order underscored the expectation that vigilance investigations be conducted by officers with appropriate expertise and care, and it implicitly cautioned against placing inadequately trained or inexperienced officers in roles where impropriety or misapplication of law could arise. The court also impleaded the de facto complainant in the case as an additional respondent to ensure the petitioners’ prayers are considered in full.
The matter is posted for further hearing, when the VACB and other respondents will have to respond to the challenge against the vigilance proceedings.
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