ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW SERIES

Supreme Court Agrees To Examine ‘Arrest Powers’ Of Tax Authorities For Evading GST May 30, 2019: On Wednesday, the Supreme Court agreed to examine the power of tax authorities to arrest an individual for evading Goods and Services Tax (GST). A vacation bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi issued notice on two appeals filed by the Centre questioning a Bombay high court order that granted anticipatory bail to individuals and took the view that an accused cannot be arrested without following the procedure laid down under the  Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc). In its appeal, the Centre also attacked the emerging trend of persons accused in economic offences challenging the constitutional validity of the statutory provisions under which they are charged. The bench also said the question of law on the power of arrest would be decided by a larger bench of three judges. The need to examine the issue arose after solicitor general Tushar Mehta pointed out that the view...

Witness Protection: Remarkable High Court Judgement To Change The Way Criminal Matters Are Probed & Tried In India May 29, 2019: On Tuesday, Indian Judiciary saw a remarkable judgement by Punjab and Haryana High Court that will lead to an altogether new way to deal with criminal cases. In a judgment that will change the way criminal matters are probed and tried, the Court issued 10 commandments for protection of witnesses, besides fair and expeditious inquiry, investigation and trial of cases, including day-to-day examination of eyewitnesses. The other directions include insurance of material witnesses in heinous and sensitive matters, audio-video recording of statements and even providing them with new identity. The Bench comprising of Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu also made the Secretary, Home, personally responsible for implementation of the directions. Nearly 160 years after the  Indian Penal Code  came into existence, ...

THE WEEK IN CORRUPTION, 17 MAY 2019- FROM TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL Hi Are you a human living on Planet Earth in 2019? Then there’s a roughly two-thirds chance your government is represented at next month’s  G20 summit  in Osaka, Japan. And even if it’s not, you should care what happens there. Despite the current trend of escalating  trade wars , isolationism and protectionism, the G20’s clout and global reach still make it an  important forum for shaping policy . Solutions are needed, as the globalisation of world trade and finance has been accompanied by an  internationalisation  of corruption. That’s where we come in. This week we had the opportunity to engage with the G20’s Anti-Corruption Working Group on their anti-corruption proposals and make recommendations for how the world’s largest economies can advance the fight against corruption. We are  particularly pushing  for G20 countries to adopt High Level Principles on  whi...

    WEEKLY CORRUPTION WATCH UPDATE. Weekly Corruption Watch update. This weekly update alerts you to the latest corruption news articles, trends, and topics. Our team of researchers and reporters provide original newsworthy stories and analysis on corruption. Newsroom reporters, news editors, and editors are encouraged and permitted to republish the content.   LATEST NEWS Will the president finally cut out the rot, asks CW? President Cyril Ramaphosa campaigned, and his party won the 2019 general election, on his record of tackling corruption in the 15 months following the demise of the corrupt Zuma regime, and on his commitment to intensify the fight against corruption following t...