The Hindu Business Line : `Injustice done to innocent can set back fight against corruption'

THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Friday advised investigating agencies to lay greater emphasis on preventive measures rather than post-facto investigations and cautioned them against adopting such methods and procedures during probes which kill managerial initiative and stunt individual enterprise and risk taking.

"Management is an art, not a science. It requires individual initiative, creativity and willingness to take risks in the larger interests of the enterprise," Dr Singh said, explaining his viewpoint while inaugurating the biennial conference of State Anti-Corruption Bureaus and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) here.

Noting that the administrative systems and procedures should be more rational and transparent, he said that the Government could not depend purely on individual ethics and morality or public opinion to deal with the malaise of corruption. It must design institutional checks, create incentives and disincentive structures and institute a system of reward and punishment.

Alongside, Dr Singh said that it was also the investigating body's duty to ensure the protection of the honest and the innocent. "Injustice done to the innocent can cause serious setback to the fight against corruption," he said.

Dr Singh said that the reform of Government and of governance was an important area of policy focus for the Government.

"We are committed to making the Freedom of Information Act more progressive, participatory and meaningful so that there is greater transparency, accountability and probity in the entire system of governance. An improved model Right to Information Draft Bill has just been received from the National Advisory Council and the Government is actively examining it," he said

The objective of economic reforms in the country, Dr Singh said, was to make the Government less intrusive, less discretionary and more transparent. Many of these reforms had an added beneficial effect of ending the hypocrisy that had come to characterise some of the country's industrial policies. Rational policies, transparent procedures and simple rules do have the positive externality of reducing the scope of corruption, he said.

Following the economic liberalisation, Dr Singh said that there has been a spurt in economic offences such as financial frauds, bank and stock market scams, money-laundering and cyber crimes.

A strong link has been developed between the economic offences and the anti-social and terrorist organisations.

He advised the probe agencies to develop the ability not to let the criminal rest, keep him always on the run and to nab him before he could inflict more harm.

"To check these enemies of civilised society, it is necessary for the investigating and the crime-fighting agencies to develop a high degree of professionalism and technical skills as well as heightened commitment to their mission," Dr Singh said.

He said that a good test of the effectiveness of any investigating body lay in the speed of the disposal of cases.

"Your investigation should be speedy and sound, which will ensure success when the matter is taken to law courts.

"The high rate of conviction in anti-corruption cases can be a great advertisement for the anti-corruption agencies", he said.