Filing charge sheet by the Anti-Corruption Commission against public servants will largely depend on the government’s intention after the recent amendment to the ACC law, a section of civil bureaucrats believe.
They say the amended ACC act may encourage corruption in the administration while some others in the bureaucracy do not feel so.
Public administration ministry’s Senior Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikdar on Monday said the provision which was removed earlier during the last caretaker government has been reinstated. “It will not encourage corruption in the civil administration as the new law did not impose any barrier on investigating graft charges of public servants. The provision of taking permission of the government before submitting the charge sheet has only been included into the law,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
The senior secretary said ACC officials will be able to investigate the allegation of corruption against any one of the administration. If the allegation is proved, they will seek permission from the government to submit charge sheet against them.
When asked if the government does not give permission, he said, “It will depend on the positive will of the government. But, I think the permission would be given if someone is found guilty.”
Parliament on Sunday passed an amendment to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Act keeping a provision that will require ACC officials to take prior permission from the government before filing charge sheets against the public servants found involved in corruption.
This provision will ensure the safety and protect the rights of the public servant, a section of the officials said. This will prevent ACC men from disturbing public servants unnecessarily in the name of probing graft allegations or filing charge sheets, they argued.
Some officials at different ministries said most of the times the ACC would have to face problems in getting permission of submitting charge sheets as the top level bureaucrats will not allow permission to submit charge sheets against them. They will try to save their colleagues from trouble.
It will hamper the positive intension of the government to eliminate corruption from the administration, they feared.
