Accountability in Governance

Accountability in Governance

Notes

Accountability means that those exercising public power are answerable for their actions and can be held to sanction (Andreas Schedler: answerability and enforceability).

Types

• Political: to voters through elections and to the legislature.
• Administrative: hierarchical control, conduct rules, performance appraisal (APAR).
• Legal: courts and judicial review.
• Financial: CAG, PAC, audit.
• Social: civil society, media, RTI, social audit.
• Vertical (citizens to State), horizontal (institutions check one another, e.g., courts, CAG, Lokpal) and diagonal (civil society monitoring).

Mechanisms in India

• Parliamentary: Question Hour, committees, motions.
• CAG and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), which began on the Santhanam Committee (1964) recommendation and became statutory in 2003. CBI investigates corruption.
• Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013: Lokpal has a Chairperson (a former CJI or Supreme Court judge) and up to eight members, half of them judicial; its jurisdiction covers the PM (with safeguards), ministers and public servants. Justice P.C. Ghose became the first Lokpal in March 2019.
• Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (amended 2018: bribe-giving is an offence; prior approval for inquiry, Sec. 17A).
• RTI Act, 2005, Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014, and Right to Services Acts.
• Subramanian Swamy v CBI (2014): Sec. 6A of the DSPE Act, requiring prior sanction to investigate senior officers, was struck down.

Challenges: weak enforcement and delays in trials, political interference, weak whistle-blower protection, lack of data and low citizen awareness.

Key Points

• Accountability = answerability + enforceability.
• Types: political, administrative, legal, financial, social.
• CVC statutory since 2003; Lokpal Act 2013; first Lokpal P.C. Ghose (2019).
• Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (amended 2018).
• Key tools: RTI, CAG, courts, whistle-blower protection.

MCQs

Q1. The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act was passed in: (a) 2005 (b) 2011 (c) 2013 (d) 2016 Ans: (c).

Q2. The Central Vigilance Commission was given statutory status in: (a) 1964 (b) 1988 (c) 2003 (d) 2013 Ans: (c).

Q3. Who was the first Lokpal of India? (a) Pinaki Chandra Ghose (b) Santosh Hegde (c) N. Vittal (d) A.K. Antony Ans: (a). Appointed in March 2019.