Administrative Labyrinth

5.2 Administrative Labyrinth

Cumbersome and dilatory administrative procedures and practices are
another major cause of corruption in India. India’s legal and administrative
system was designed in the middle of the nineteenth century to serve the
interests of colonial administration. The Indian Penal Code, the main instrument
for controlling crime and administering criminal justice, was enacted in 1860. The
organization and functions of the police are governed by the Indian Police Act of
1861. The Indian Evidence Act came into force in 1872. The Indian Telegraph
Act, which regulates the control of air-waves and licensing of broadcasting
facilities, was passed in 1855-even before the invention of the wireless.

Fundamental Rules and Supplementary Rules, the financial Bibles for all
government financial transactions, were framed in the twenties when the
government’s financial transactions and commitments were very simple.
The British had designed this legal system to strengthen a regulatory
colonial administration. These laws were based on distrust of the ‘natives’ and a
firm belief in their inability to govern themselves. It has in built provisions for
delays, prolonged litigation and evasion. Its provisions are ideally suited to the
promotion of corruption at all levels, as graft provides the quickest immunity from
delays and punitive action. Thus archaic legal system is not only least suited to
the promotion of a democratic, egalitarian, welfare state, it fosters an outlook
which is subversive to social equity. The focal point of colonial justice was the
individual and the protection of individual property rights whereas the emphasis
of a welfare state is on the rights of the society and social justice.