Corruption cases: At 71% Gujarat has one of the highest acquittal rates in India, Crime Bureau data suggest

Counterview Desk
A recent study by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a well-known rights-based NGO with presence in several countries, has revealed that Gujarat, which happens to be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “model state”, has experienced one of the lowest conviction rates in corruption cases registered during 2001-15.
Bases on an analysis of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data of 15 years, CHRI in its report “Fact and Fiction: Governments’ Efforts to Combat Corruption”, prepared by right to information (RTI) activist Venkatesh Nayak, says, out of a total of 49,28,153 criminal cases registered in Gujarat during the period, just about 3148 (or 0.06%) related to corruption.
Pointing out that this is equal to the national average, the report says that the states where a higher percentage of corruption cases than Gujarat vis-à-vis total number of criminal cases were registered are Haryana (0.2%), Himachal Pradesh (0.42%), Jammu & Kashmir (0.26%), Karnataka 0.22%), Maharashtra (0.17%), Odisha (0.47%), Punjab (0.38%), Rajasthan (0.2%), and Telangana (0.13%).
As for acquittals because of court trials, the report states, in Gujarat these were 70.59%, one of the highest in the country among big states.
While the all-India acquittal rate, 64.73%, is much lower than that of Gujarat, the states which experienced lower acquittal rates include Andhra Pradesh (48.13%), Assam (30%), Bihar (54.15%), Chhattisgarh (57.47%), Himachal Pradesh (27.77%), Kerala (47.97%), Madhya Pradesh (47.08%), Odisha (63.88%), Punjab (69.1%), Tamil Nadu (65.85%), Telangana (52.68%), and Uttarakhand (51.06%).
Higher number of acquittals has happened in Gujarat even as Haryana was found to be topping the list with 86.10% (2,106 against 2,446) of corruption cases being registered, followed by Gujarat 81.26% (2,558 out of 3,148), Maharashtra 72.10%, Himachal Pradesh 67.78%, Karnataka at 62.51% and Jammu and Kashmir at 54.64%.
Higher acquittal rates in Gujarat has come about against the backdrop of the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) figures for 2015 released by reputed consultants, Transparency International, in which India ranks 76th among 168 countries surveyed for people’s perceptions about corruption.
Countries like Bhutan (27), Chile (23), Ghana (56), Jordan (45), Namibia (45), Panama (72), Rwanda (44), Saudi Arabia (48), Senegal (61), Seychelles (40), South Africa (61) and Uruguay (21) scored better than India on CPI. In the BRICS grouping, India keeps company with Brazil at 76th place while China is at 83 and Russia far below at 119.
Giving a comparison of corruption with other types of cases across India, the report reveals, during 2001-15, the NCRB reported the registration of 5,01,852 cases of murder, as against only registration of just about 54,139 cases of corruption. “In other words, for ten murders registered, only one case of corruption was registered across the country”, the report states.
Then, says the report, during this 15-year period, the NCRB reported the registration of 5.87 lakh cases (5,87,347 cases) of kidnapping or abduction across the country. “In other words, for 11 kidnappings or abductions registered across the country, only one case of corruption was registered by the law enforcement authorities”, says the report.
“This comparison seems to indicate severe lack of public confidence in the ability of the anti-corruption agencies to investigate a complaint of corruption, collect evidence and put the case up for trial”, comments Nayak.
Regrets Nayak, “Even though India ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) in 2011, this year, International Anti-Corruption Day went by uncelebrated and in fact almost unnoticed.”

Comments

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Advocacy group decries 'hyper-centralization' as States’ share of health funds plummets

By A Representative In a major pre-budget mobilization, the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), India’s leading public health advocacy network, has issued a sharp critique of the Union government’s health spending and demanded a doubling of the health budget for the upcoming 2026-27 fiscal year.

Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar’s views on religion as Tagore’s saw them

By Harasankar Adhikari Religion has become a visible subject in India’s public discourse, particularly where it intersects with political debate. Recent events, including a mass Gita chanting programme in Kolkata and other incidents involving public expressions of faith, have drawn attention to how religion features in everyday life. These developments have raised questions about the relationship between modern technological progress and traditional religious practice.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria* Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027. However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

With infant mortality rate of 5, better than US, guarantee to live is 'alive' in Kerala

By Nabil Abdul Majeed, Nitheesh Narayanan In 1945, two years prior to India's independence, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was born into a working-class family in northern Kerala. He was his mother’s fourteenth child; of the thirteen siblings born before him, only two survived. His mother was an agricultural labourer and his father a toddy tapper. They belonged to a downtrodden caste, deemed untouchable under the Indian caste system.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb: Akbar to Shivaji -- the cross-cultural alliances that built India

By Ram Puniyani What is Indian culture? Is it purely Hindu, or a blend of many influences? Today, Hindu right-wing advocates of Hindutva claim that Indian culture is synonymous with Hindu culture, which supposedly resisted "Muslim invaders" for centuries. This debate resurfaced recently in Kolkata at a seminar titled "The Need to Protect Hinduism from Hindutva."

Drowning or conspiracy? Singapore findings deepen questions over Zubeen Garg’s death

By Nava Thakuria* For millions of fans of Zubeen Garg, who died under unexplained circumstances in Singapore on 19 September last year, disturbing news has emerged from the island nation. Its police authorities have stated that the iconic Assamese singer died while intoxicated and swimming in the sea without a mandatory life jacket.

Search This Blog