Forum flags delays in ACB prosecutions, says conviction rate stuck at 50%

The Forum for Good Governance has written to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy flagging ‘abnormal delays’ in prosecuting Anti-Corruption Bureau cases, warning that prolonged proceedings and low conviction rates were undermining deterrence against corruption in Telangana’s administration.

In a representation dated December 18, the forum said the ACB had registered 621 cases over the past five years, averaging about 120 cases annually. However, it alleged that once the Director General of ACB completes inquiries and submits reports seeking permission to prosecute the accused officials, decisions in the Secretariat are often delayed, sometimes by more than a year. The forum claimed that sanction to prosecute was accorded in barely a quarter of cases, with the remainder being sent for departmental inquiries or to the Tribunal for Disciplinary Proceedings, where cases can take decades to conclude.

The forum further pointed out that even after charge-sheets are filed, cases frequently remain pending in courts for more than a decade, with only about 20 to 25 cases being disposed of each year. Citing ACB data, it said that in 2023–24, only 19 old cases were disposed of, resulting in nine convictions and 10 acquittals, while in 2024–25, a total of 22 cases were disposed of, with 12 convictions and 10 acquittals. Overall, the conviction rate stands at around 50%, it said.

The forum referred to a disproportionate assets case registered against a motor vehicle inspector, B. Bhadru Naik, in December 2008. Although the officer was suspended and an inquiry report submitted seeking prosecution sanction, it took 16 months for the government to accord permission, during which time the officer was reinstated. A charge-sheet was filed in 2011, but the case remains pending even after 15 years, the forum said. It added that the officer was subsequently promoted and later caught again while allegedly accepting a bribe, leading to a second case that is still under inquiry. This, the forum argued, reflected a lack of fear of punishment and pointed to rampant corruption.

The forum’s president M. Padmanabha Reddy urged the Chief Minister to issue directions to ensure prosecution sanctions are granted within a month of being sought, accused officers are not given postings until cases are disposed of, trials are completed within two years, and the conviction rate is raised from 50% to 90%. The forum said such measures were essential to restore public confidence and effectively curb corruption in administration.