ACB aims to increase conviction rate

The Mumbai range of Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has said it is taking a slew of measures this year to increase its dismal conviction rate of just seven per cent in 2015, while the overall conviction rate of Maharashtra ACB stood at 23 per cent. The Mumbai range is still to open its account this year with 0 per cent conviction rate with acquittals coming in all the five bribery cases that completed trial in January. The overall conviction rate of the Maharashtra ACB stands at 21 per cent.

Speaking to The Asian Age on the issue, where as many as 64 out of 69 government servants and private persons were acquitted last year in bribery cases, the new chief of Mumbai ACB range, additional commissioner Keshav Patil said, “We have a court officer (of the rank of police inspector) and a policeman who keep a track of all the trials going on in ACB cases in the courts. We have entrusted them to ensure all the witnesses and panchas are present on the dates given to them.”

Mr Patil added, “Furthermore, we will also seek action against those government servants who become our panchas, but later turn hostile in court. There are instances when the investigating officers are still in the

ACB when the case comes up in courts. In such cases we will ask the investigating officer to ensure he monitors the case properly. Many a time, the investigating officers are transferred from the ACB till the cases come up, and hence it is difficult to ask them to keep a track of them.”

Mr Patil also said that they are studying the reasons for the acquittals in the 64 bribery cases last year, adding he would not disclose the loopholes exploited by the alleged accused and the measures they are allegedly taking to ensure that acquittals don’t occur due to the same reasons.

The trials are being completed at a faster pace since 2015 as the number of ACB courts almost doubled at the start of last year.

The ACB is also video recording the sequence of events of their traps and making the complainant write the complaint in his/her own handwriting to ensure they do not turn hostile during the trials.