Punjab Assembly passes Bill to empower Vigilance Commission

Chandigarh : Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday moved the Punjab State Vigilance Commission (Repeal) Bill, 2022, that was passed unanimously.Moving a resolution to this regard, Mann said that the main function of the Punjab State Vigilance Commission is to enquire or cause enquires into complaints alleging commission of offences by a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.

He said the commission is also empowered to exercise superintendence and control over the functioning of the Vigilance Bureau and police establishment in so far it relates to corruption cases.Mann said the Punjab State Vigilance Commission Act 2020, which was supposed to be enacted on the lines of the Central Vigilance Commission Act 2003, suffers from serious deviations.

The Chief Minister said the Vigilance Commission constituted under this Act is, therefore, not serving any useful objectives except being a burden on the state exchequer.He said as there are multiple agencies in the state to deal with same set stakeholders, including full-fledged Vigilance Department.

Therefore, Mann said to avoid overlapping, contradictory findings, resultant delays and gaps in communication, it has become necessary to repeal the Punjab State Vigilance Commission Act 2020.