A democratic system allows liberty for free participation in political, economic and social activities, but for the system to function smoothly, accountability should reign supreme. If the people in power and responsible posts fail to work with a sense of accountability, mass disenchantment results and people tend to question the very relevance of system and the political stakeholders. People in authority may tend to take advantage of legal loopholes and abuse authority for personal gains and for benefits of family and friends. Abuse of authority, financial embezzlements, misappropriation of public funds, bribery, laxity in work, under-performance, loss caused to the treasury, use of fake documents, procedural manipulation and varied forms of irregularities amount to corruption which can grow and become rampant in absence of transparency, monitoring, surveillance, auditing and verification mechanisms.

Such malpractices pose threat to good governance and just society. Corruption creeps into a system when its handlers give up integrity, honesty and moral standard. In a corrupt dealing, innocent people who are supposed to get the service from government machineries get deprived and cheated while the kin and cronies of the powerful people benefit unduly. Public procurement, contract awarding, implementation of development projects, appointments in influential posts, distribution of government allocated financial benefits, promotions, transfers and quality control of consumer goods are some of the areas where manipulation can take place for personal and partisan advantages. Activities that cause harm to good conduct, morality, fair dealing and justice fall in the category of corruption.

This is an anomaly that calls for constant preventive watchfulness as well as stern punitive action when the wrongdoing is probed and proved in the court of law. It is for the anti-corruption objective that the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) was created. The constitutional body works to control corruption and abuse of authority and fosters good governance. In this way the Commission has been constitutionally entrusted to work seriously to ensure good governance and sense of accountability in the people who hold responsible positions in public offices. If corrupt practices go unmonitored and unpunished, it further encourages such practices in various spheres of government which ultimately does harm to the foundation of democracy itself.

In this respect, CIAA has an august role to play in the broader process of strengthening and institutionalising the democratic system the nation has embraced. As it is an autonomous constitutional body, it should stand bold and free from any political influence and carry out thorough investigation of corruption cases and file chargesheets. The Commission is naturally overwhelmed with complaints which need to be addressed on priority basis. Besides responding to the complaints filed before the Commission, it has the onerous obligation of working in coordination with the National Vigilance Centre, the Central Bureau of Investigation, anti-money laundering agency and the police.

The intensification of anti-corruption measures by the Commission in recent times is drawing public attention through media coverage. In the latest major development, the commission filed a corruption case against former minister Ram Kumar Shrestha at the Special Court, Kathmandu. Shrestha, who once also served as a government secretary, has been charged of illegally amassing wealth amounting to over 40 million rupees. It is up to the court to serve the final verdict, but the Commission has a great role to play to conduct investigation, to make probe related detention and file a case. It can make sure no one in public office can get away with corruption.