According to the latest annual report from the Central Vigilance Commission, as many as 7,072 corruption cases investigated by the CBI are still waiting for trial in various courts, and 379 of these cases have been pending for more than 20 years.
As of December 31, 2024, the total cases included 1,506 that were pending for less than three years, 791 that were pending for more than three years but up to five years, and 2,115 that were pending for more than five years but up to 10 years.
A recent report from the anti-corruption watchdog stated that 2,281 corruption cases were still waiting for trial and had been pending for over 10 to 20 years, while 379 cases had been stuck for more than 20 years. It was mentioned that 7,072 cases were still waiting for trial as of December 31, 2024. "It is concerning that 2,660 cases were still unresolved after more than 10 years by the end of 2024," it said.
The report says that around 13,100 appeals or revisions, submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the accused, are still waiting to be heard in various high courts and the Supreme Court. It said that of these cases, 606 were pending for more than 20 years, 1,227 were pending for more than 15 years but less than 20 years, 2,989 were pending for more than 10 years but less than 15 years, 4,059 were pending for more than five years but less than 10 years, 1,778 were pending for more than two years but less than five years, and 2,441 were pending for less than two years. In 2024, decisions were made in 644 cases.
The CVC stated that out of these cases, 392 led to a conviction, 154 resulted in an acquittal, 21 were discharged, and 77 were handled for other reasons. Last year, the rate at which cases were successfully concluded was 69.14 pc, which is slightly lower than the 71.47 pc recorded in 2023. By the end of 2024, there were 11,384 court cases, including those not related to corruption, still being handled by different courts.
The CVC report also mentioned that 807 cases were filed by the CBI in 2024, out of which 674 were regular cases and 133 were preliminary enquiries. It said that up to 222 traps were set up to catch bribery cases in 2024, and 43 regular cases related to holding assets that were not justified were recorded during the year.
Also Read: Coal Scam: Ex-coal secy HC Gupta, others acquitted by court
According to a report by the CVC, which oversees the CBI's investigation into cases involving corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, out of 807 cases, 111 were handled based on orders from constitutional courts, and 61 were based on references from state governments and Union Territories. In 2024, the CBI carried out investigations in 1,005 cases. Out of these, 856 were regular cases and 149 were preliminary enquiries.
At the end of 2024, there were 832 cases that had not been resolved yet. Out of these, 776 were regular cases, and there were also 56 preliminary enquiries. According to the CVC report, among the regular cases, 445 had been pending for more than a year. Additionally, 42 preliminary enquiries were still outstanding after more than three months by the end of 2024.
The report stated that the CBI filed 502 cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act in 2024, which involved 859 public servants, including 221 who were gazetted officers. As of December 31, 2024, there were 529 corruption cases filed by the CBI that were still being looked into. Of these, 56 were waiting for over five years, 60 were waiting more than three years but less than five years, 64 were waiting more than two years but less than three years, 108 were waiting more than one year but less than two years, and 241 were waiting less than one year.
Also Read: Fraud examination panel reconstituted for two years
The CBI is supposed to finish the investigation within a year after the case is registered. The CVC stated that finishing the investigation would mean preparing and submitting a charge sheet to a court, as needed, once permission is received from the appropriate authority. It, however, mentioned that there was "some delay" in finishing the investigation in some cases.
The investigation is taking longer than expected because of several issues. These include having too much work to do, not enough people working on it, waiting a long time to get answers to the Letters Rogatory, and delays in getting approval from the proper authorities to proceed with the prosecution.
The CVC report mentioned that the delay in finishing the investigation by the CBI was because of the long time needed to check through a lot of documents, especially in cases related to economic crimes and bank fraud, and also because of the time and effort needed to find and question witnesses who were in faraway places.
Also Read: CBI grills TMC MLA Atin Ghosh in RG Kar graft case
Follow us
