Since the topic of corruption is raging strong, I thought that I would have a look at the corruption cases in early India.....its is refreshing to note that in all of these cases except one the guilty were punished....I am giving below the gist of the cases....It is a tribute to Nehru and the Congress leaders of that day that people on charges of corruption are ultimately punished except in a few instances.
.Jeeps Scandal involving VK Krishna Menon 1948
The history of corruption in post-Independence India starts with the Jeep scandal in 1948, when a transaction concerning purchase of jeeps for the army needed for Kashmir operation was entered into by V.K.Krishna Menon, the then High Commissioner for India in London with a foreign firm without observing normal procedure. Contrary to the demand of the opposition for judicial inquiry as suggested by the Inquiry Committee led by Ananthsayanam Ayyangar, the then Government announced in September 1955 that the Jeep scandal case was closed. Soon after in February 1956 Krishna Menon was inducted into the Nehru cabinet as minister without portfolio.
THE MUDGAL CASE 1951
The Mudgal case came into the open when Prime Minister Jawa-harlal Nehru moved a motion in the Provisional Parliament in 1951 for constitution of a five- member committee headed by T.T. Krishnamachari to probe the conduct and activities of one of its members, H.G. Mudgal of the Congress party itself. This case did not come out due to a media investigation like in the present but was brought out by Nehru himself.
Mudgal was accused of receiving financial and business advantages from the Bombay Bullion Asso¬ciation for "canvassing support and making propaganda in Parlia¬ment on problems like option business, stamp duty, etc".
Nehru had two meetings with the member at which he confronted Mudgal with the evidence on hand. Nehru was unimpressed by Mudgal's defence and decided to move the motion for constitution of a parliamentary committee to investigate into Mudgal's conduct.
The Speaker also brushed aside demands for the proceedings being held in camera. "The public will not know what we are do¬ing and it is no use keeping back from the public what our true colours are."
After weighing the evidence at hand and examining several witnesses including Mudgal's assistant, the committee concluded that Mudgal's conduct was derogatory to the dignity of the House and inconsistent with the standards which Parliament is entitled to expect from its members.
While the report of the committee was unanimous, four of its members chose to append separate notes on the issues that the Mudgal case had thrown up namely the conduct of the MP’s.
The Haridas Mundhra Scandal 1958
This was the first financial scandal that surfaced in free India. It was exposed by none other than Feroze Gandhi in 1958 much to the discomfiture of his father in law Nehru and his government. Haridas Mundhra is a Calcutta based industrialist and stock speculator. In 1956 Mundhra was found guilty by the Bombay stock exchange for selling forged shares. In 1957 he managed to influence the LIC into investing Rs 1.40 crores (which is large by the then standards) in his 6 loss making companies namely Richardson and Cruddas, Jessops, Smith Stanistreet, Osler lamps, Agnelo Brothers and British India Corp. This investment was done under government pressure and bypassed the LIC’s investment committee and LIC has lost most of that money. The M.C.Chagla committee was appointed by the government to investigate the matter. A public hearing was undertaken and large crowds gathered to watch the proceedings. The report was submitted in just 24 days and the Finanace Minister T.T.Krishnamachari had to resign from his office.
Haridas Mundhra was arrested and sent to prison. It later transpired that Mundhra has also cheated the government on income tax in connivance with some officials.
In the Mundhra case, the action of the government was swift and the investigation was concluded in just 24 days of public hearings and Mundhra was punished.
Charges against Pratap Singh Kairon,Chief Minister of Punjab 1963/64:
Pratap Singh Kairon and his family members were accused of corruption in early 1960’s. A judicial inquiry into the charges against Kairon was held after an indictment was handed out by the Supreme Court in a case filed by a Punjab Civil Surgeon. It was the first judicial inquiry into charges of corruption, setup against a Chief Minister, in office, by the Government of India.
The commission concluded that "There is no getting away from the fact that S. Pratap Singh Kairon knew or had ample reason to suspect that his sons and relatives were allegedly exploiting his influence and powers... In view of his inaction in the face of the circumstances here in before alluded to, he must be held to have connived at the doings of his sons and relatives, his colleagues and the government officers."
Kairon's initial reaction was to stick to his office in spite of the adverse verdict. The report of the enquiry commission came in 1964, 2 months after Shastri assumed office as PM. When the report was published, Kairon had no option but to quit. He was later assassinated by Sucha Singh.
Charges against K.D.Malviya minister:
K.D.Malaviya was a minister in charge of
ministry of Mines and Fuel. There were allegations that the minister has
received Rs 10,000 from
Seerajuddin&Co from Orissa with which his ministry had dealings. Malaviya
was a leftists in the congress party and was known to be ideologically close to
Nehru. Despite that when the allegations surfaced Nehru did not hesitate in
ordering an inquiry. The commission found Malaviya guilty and he had to resign
from his office. His resignation was readily accepted by Nehru. Contrast
Nehrus behavior with those that came after him. Would we ever be able to get
leaders like him again? Many people have contempt for Nehru without actually
reading much about him. Nothing can be a better eye opener than the book
written by MO Mathai, his personal secretary who does describe Nehru's
weaknesses...and was roundly criticized and condemned by Congressmen but Mathai also says that he has not seen any greater nationalist than
Nehru.
