Corruption in India: History, Law & Politics.
by
Sandeep Bhalla
© Author 2026
All rights including copying, circulation, sharing, transmitting online, translation, transliteration, transformation into another medium or publication either in part or in full, in letters or spoken language are reserved with the author.
Preface
Corruption is a generic word which may denote different things to different people or in different circumstances or in different jurisdictions. However in India, the law prohibits certain acts of public servants treating these acts as corrupt practices. This book is in respect of those corrupt practices of public servants which are prohibited in India, by law.
This book is an attempt to assimilate basic knowledge about law against corruption in India from all the sources to understand the nature of 'corruption', the history of evolution of it's laws and attempts to deal and prosecute the corrupt. The first chapter in it's introduction deals with the evolution of laws against corruption in India from the historical times.
There are four primary legislation which deals with the subject of corruption in public office in India. These are Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003, Lokpal & Lokayukta Act, 2013 and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. Of course there are provisions in other laws which too are aimed at preventing corruption e.g. Income Tax Act, 1961. But those are more in the nature of subsidiary procedures such as reporting income, restriction on cash transaction or need to report large monetary transactions to appropriate authority etc.
There are some new legislative measures like Prevention of Money Laundering Act which deal with post facto corruption.
However the most important factor in relation to corruption is the politics around it. The persistence of corruption is not due to lack of laws or watchdogs to prosecute it but there is an inertia in preventing it. There are many practical compulsions in politics of a democratic India which makes it fertile ground for corruption.
Most of the paragraphs are succeeded by the relevant judgement citation (in blue colour in eBook), which supports the view expressed before or from which the extract has been quoted. The foot notes confuse some readers in an ebook therefore this method has been used in place of foot/end notes.
Of course, most of the cited judgements carry a live link in ebook. Which means you can click on the citation and the whole judgement or source shall open up in a browser, instantly.
There is one caution, however, is that the live link feature is subject to the availability of third party servers over which I have no control and I do not vouch for it's availability.
All the best to every reader.
Regards,
Sandeep Bhalla
New Delhi.
Jan. 5, 2020.
PS: Errors and Omissions are Excepted.
Preface to 2026 Digital Edition
Corruption is a problem faced by every civilized society. It is not limited to democratic countries alone. The problem of India is a lot different.
In India, corruption too is democratic. Every citizen is connected to it in some way or the other. Corruption is so ingrained that people do not even realize that they are beneficiary of corruption.
In India, the corruption has attained industrial scale. There is an entire universe of corruption which is invisible from outside. The book deals with those reasons but requires an additional chapter to explain it. This is under development and shall be added as soon as possible. Kindly bear with me.
Regards
Sandeep Bhalla
New Delhi.
October 1, 2026
PS: Errors and Omissions are Excepted.
Arrangement of the book.
Chapter 1 is introduction to corruption with historical references of it's presence in India since about 300BC. It also traces the anti-corruption laws from 1860 and its rapid changes from 1947 to date.
Chapter 2 explains what is corruption in law. The law does not treat every immoral act as corruption. The law also do not enter into personal lives of people. The laws against corruption operate and bind only those in service of the Governments or 'Public Servants' as they are ostentatiously called.
Chapter 3 explains as to who is covered by the definition of Public Servant. The chapter also deals with some of the older laws and cases in which the public servant was defined differently and compare it with present definition.
Chapter 4 deals with the Watchdogs which are entrusted with the job of 'eradicating' corruption. The number of these authorities is staggering close to a dozen yet India remains a highly corrupt country. Therefore this chapter takes a look at the structure of these institutions and it's mutual relationships.
Chapter 5 deals with the prosecution for corruption. The step by step procedure starts with a complaint which culminates into investigation with need for so many approvals in between.
Chapter 6 dwells into the evidence and proof of corruption. The anti-corruption laws create a few special presumptions yet the foundation of the presumptions have to be strictly laid by prosecution to prove the charge.
Chapter 7 lays down the procedure for trial of a person accused for corruption. It also discusses with some legal issues like double jeopardy, issue estoppel and parallel disciplinary proceedings etc.
Chapter 8 deals with the Trial Court and it's jurisdiction to adjudicate the prosecution for corruption. It also deals with changes in courts due to transfer of cases or changes in jurisdiction, judgement and sentence.
Chapter 9 deals with the Appeal and Revision against the final judgement of the Trial Court as also the interim or interlocutory orders.
Chapter 10 is dedicated to the new measure to curb proceeds of corruption through Prevention of Money Laundering Act and Benami Transactions Act which place burden of disclosing the source of earning of wealth upon the accused/owner, failing which the money can be confiscated by the relevant authority apart from criminal prosecution.
Chapter 11 discusses and analyses the politics in India which often rotates around the corruption. It also takes a brief look at kind of corruption abroad. It also goes into the breadth and depth of corruption in various institutions which is rampant and go unnoticed by law.
Chapter 12 is about Elections in India and it's unique but powerful Election Commission which is a Constitutional Institution like Supreme Court. It also contain some suggestions about electoral reforms.
Chapter 13 is the Epilogue with some more suggestions and way forward to effectively deal with menace of corruption.
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