Hidayatullah National Law University Raipur, Chhattisgarh Submitted to: Mrs. ALKA MEHTA (Professor, HNLU Raipur) Submitted by: AAKASH BHATT Roll No.-4 Semester- I, B.A.L.LB.(Hons.) Corruption in the field of law
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Declaration..2 2. Acknowledgements....3 3. Scope, Objective and Research Methodology.4 4. Introduction...5 5. What is corruption........6 6. Law enforcement corruption.......7 7. Corruption in international aspect ................ 9 8. Administrative reforms to prevent corruption..11 9. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 10. Bibliography16
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DECLARATION
I, Aakash Bhatt hereby declare that, the project work entitled, corruption in the field of law submitted to H.N.L.U., Raipur is record of an original work done by me under the able guidance of Mrs. Alka Mehta, Faculty Member, H.N.L.U., Raipur.
Aakash Bhatt Roll No.4 Batch XIII Sem 1 22/08/2013
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Acknowledgements
Thanks to the Almighty who gave me the strength to accomplish the project with sheer hard work and honesty. This research venture has been made possible due to the generous co- operation of various persons. To list them all is not practicable, even to repay them in words is beyond the domain of my lexicon. This project wouldnt have been possible without the help of my teacher Mrs. Alka Mehta the Faculty of English at HNLU, who had always been there at my side whenever I needed some help regarding any information. She has been my mentor in the truest sense of the term. The administration has also been kind enough to let me use their facilities for research work. I thank them for this.
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Scope of Study: The scope of my study includes how corruption is involved in our society. This study also looks on aspects of corruption which pollute the society. Mainly it deals with the study of how corruption is coming in the field of law and what will be the solutions for removing it.
Objectives of Study: The basic objective of my study is to find out that from where this corruption has evolved and how it entered in law , so that we can come out with the best solution to remove corruption from law field.
Research Methodology: This project work is descriptive & analytical in approach. It is largely based on the analysis of various aspects of corruption, its presence in field of law and how we can remove it. Books & other references as guided by faculty of English are primarily helpful for the completion of this project. Corruption in the field of law
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Introduction:
The Honorable Supreme Court of India has said:
Corruption is the worst form of Human Rights Violation
India is a democratic country and a democratic government is called as By the people, For the people and Of the people, but the Indians are not getting the proper benefits as the citizens of a democratic country should get. Corruption is a very big reason for this. Though corruption is often viewed as illegal, there is an evolving concept of legal corruption, as developed by Daniel Kaufmann and Pedro Vicente. It might be termed as processes which are legal (that is, specifically permitted, or at least not proscribed by law), but which are aimed at private gain (or the gain of narrow self interests) rather than benefitting all. Judicial Corruption refers to corruption related misconduct of judges, through receiving or giving bribes, improper sentencing of convicted criminals, bias in the hearing and judgement of arguments and other such misconduct. Governmental corruption of judiciary is broadly known in many transitional and developing countries because the budget is almost completely controlled by the executive. The latter undermines the separation of powers, as it creates a critical financial dependence of the judiciary. The proper national wealth distribution including the government spending on the judiciary is subject of the constitutional economics. It is important to distinguish between the two methods of corruption of the judiciary: the government (through budget planning and various privileges), and the private.
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What is corruption ? In philosophical, theological,or moral discussions, corruption is spiritual or moral impuity orde viation from an ideal. Corruption may include many activities including bribery and embezzlement. Government occurs when an office-holder or other governmental employee acts in an official capacity for his or her own personal gain. Now-a-days corruption can be seen everywhere. It is like cancer in public life, which has not become so rampant and perpetuated overnight, but in course of time. A country where leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Lai Bahadur Shastri and Kamraj have taken birth and led a value-based is now facing the problem of corruption. When we talk of corruption in public life, it covers corruption in politics, state governments, central governments, "business, industry and so on. Public dealing counters in most all government offices are the places where corruption most evident. If anybody does not pay for the work it is sure work won't be done. People have grown insatiable appetite for money in them and they can go to any extent to get money. Undoubtedly they talk of morality and the importance of value-based life but that is for outer show. Their inner voice is something else. It is always crying for money. It has been seen the officers who are deputed to look into the matters of corruption turn out to be corrupt. Our leaders too are not less corrupt. Thus the network of corruption goes on as usual and remains undeterred. Corruption is seen even in the recruitment department where appointments are ensured through reliable middle agencies. Nexus between politicians and bureaucrats works in a very sophisticated manner. Nexus does also exist between criminals and police. Everybody knows that criminals have no morals, hence nothing good can we expect from them. But police are supposed to be the symbol of law and order and discipline. Even they are indulged in corruption. This is more so because they enjoy unlimited powers and there is no action against them even on complaints and sufficient proof of abuse of office atrocities and high handedness. Corruption can be need-based or greed-based. Better governance can at least help to check need- based corruption. Better governance can check greed based corruption also because punishment for the corrupt will be very effective and prompt in a better-governed country. The steps should be taken to correct the situation overall. Declarations of property and assets of the government employees are made compulsory and routine and surprise inspections and raids be conducted at certain intervals. Though it seerris very difficult to control corruption but it is not impossible. It is not only the responsibility of the government but ours too. We can eliminate corruption if there will be joint effort. We must have some high principles to follow so that we may be models for the coming generation. Let us take a view to create an atmosphere free from corruption. That will be our highest achievement as human beings. Corruption in the field of law
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Law Enforcement Corruption There are some services that we as humans cannot live without. It is of paramount importance that we have security around where we live, work and frequent whether in a shopping mall or a pub. The police are the people vested with the most important job of keeping our streets free from crime and for arresting the criminals who are out to make our lives difficult by stealing and even killing people. The police usually take an oath of duty to serve and protect without prejudice, they should also not engage in unethical acts while dispensing their duties (Gaines & Miller 2008). It is therefore sad to note that the same policemen and policewomen engage in some immoral activities with the public as favors in return for their services. Some of these cases go unreported and thus make the police continue with these unethical practices. Some policemen look at the police work ethics codes as mere writings on a piece of paper and hardly observe them. In the society, ethical behavior is judged by actions and not by words. The ethics codes are meant to act as guidelines for the law enforcement personnel to conduct their duties in an ethical manner including doing investigations into crimes. The police are also clearly directed not to use force if none is necessary in the apprehension of law breakers and avoid at all costs engaging in actions that conflict with their interests as police officers and detest from corruption at all costs. Appropriate training completes the police guidelines and when they are working in a unit under the leadership of strong leaders then the police personnel have all the necessary tools and mental preparedness to dispense their duties in an ethical manner whilst upholding their good professional careers. Corruption is one of the most common ethical issues facing law enforcement today. This is basically the lack of police integrity. This is the biggest obstacle to positive police-public relations in today's society (Banks, C, 2004). The police corruption normally includes acts of brutality, excessive force, inefficiency and the use of public office for private gain. Police brutality is the most reported type of corruption whereby the police use excessive force in the apprehension of criminals. Some cases report police as having beaten up suspects and in some severe instances the suspects even succumb to the injuries inflicted on them by the police. In a society where crime is rampant the most common people to be attacked by police are the young men who are always perceived to be doing something against the law. People have for the longest time complained of this vice and with the advancement in technology, people have publicly shown the brutality actions that have been recorded on phones or on video and only in these cases are the officers involved charged. It turns out that in most of the cases reported to have taken place before, the police cover the bad actions of their colleague in an effort to save the face of the police force. Police inefficiency is another common corruption complaint from the public (Banks, C 2004). Police sometimes report on a crime scene and overlook some important details that could have led to the apprehension of suspects. This is because they dismiss some cases like theft in houses or loss of items and do not take them seriously. The complainant ends up being unhappy and dissatisfied with the way the police handled a complaint while the police do not make it a big deal. This ends up being a conflict between the accuser and the police. Being as it is that the police are very important in the society and their duties cannot be overlooked, they tend to have a 'god' factor which makes them feel important, strong and Corruption in the field of law
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indispensable. In the process they engage in actions that abuse their office. Almost each and every one of us knows of someone or has personally engaged a police officer in search of a 'favor' (Humberts, L, W 2002). Some people pay policemen to get out of criminal situations while others go on to bribe the police to have cases and evidence held against them dismissed. Police sometimes use their badges to harass other people on request of other people to scare them. In cases where a businessman has been robbed or frequently has his place of work vandalized, some business people go on to offer police freebies from their businesses as a deal with the police so that the police can maybe offer more patrols around that area to keep off vandals. In the first place, it is the duty of the police to be offering the patrol services but given the free benefits they are getting from the business premises they will be more vigilant around that area. Police often get free sexual favors from clients on diverse grounds. An officer may demand sexual favors in return for the disappearance of crucial evidence in a case that the person offering the service is involved in. In other instances the police will demand the same from people doing other crimes so that they do not take them in, in this case, the police will keep coming back for the sexual favors and threaten the suspect that if they did not give in to the demands they would arrest them. In an instance like this, the police act as cover for criminals to keep breaking the law and expose the rest of the public to possible harm. Money is the source of all evil and the rich criminals use this as their backup to keep their businesses going. Police are paid by drug barons to ensure that the people who work for them are left unharmed and are never arrested (Development, K., 2008). Drugs are the biggest social evils and many youth get lost in them. Drug barons are wealthy people who wield a lot of respect because of the money they have to dish around. The police are aware of these and those who can go on ahead to profit from keeping quiet about the where about and goings on in the drug industry and basically turn their backs on the drug pushers in return for money. Police have been known to hold associations with known criminals in many areas (Development, K., 2008). Police have received bribes or gifts in different manner to keep a blind eye and watch over criminals. Some officers even offer to give out privileged information from their offices to criminals that they should not be doing. Police files have been known to go missing, police reports are altered and computer information too has been known to disappear. In some instances, the identity of confidential sources has been disclosed leading to the murder of useful would be witnesses to major crimes and thus the end to a vital police investigation. Police who are on the pay roll of powerful individuals go on to disclose information regarding ongoing and planned investigations to the concerned individual, office or group to alert them of them and thus the investigations go on to bear no fruits. When arrests are made and the arresting officers find out that they do not have a strong case against the suspect, some go on to falsify the official reports including warrants, affidavits and witness statements to make sure that the suspects they had arrested are charged. It is almost impossible for a suspect to clear their name when something like this occurs in their case files. The police have regularly been involved in cases where they take or fail to take action against people due to their gender, race, religion, sexual orientation and national origin ( Humberts, L, W 2002). All people have an equal right to demand and receive police protection and especially since there is a diversity of people in all areas almost everywhere the police should be the last Corruption in the field of law
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people to group people before offering their services because they are under oath to serve and protect without prejudice. The police being law enforcers have the duty to protect the rights of all citizens and it is unfortunate that they should be the ones charged with failure to protect the rights of citizens and to follow set laws and court decisions regarding those rights with a reference to probable cause, interrogation and report preparations (Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. 1991). Police corruption has been classified into three levels. Individual corruption which involves an individual police officer working in a department that discourages corruption, Organizational corruption which involves unethical acts occurring in a department in which the officers and administrators are involved together in an organized corruption practice and finally, environmental corruption which exists when politically significant groups generally tolerate and actively supports corrupt practices by the law enforcement personnel by the general public. Strong leadership that leads by example while avoiding questionable conduct is paramount for a police department to uphold ethical standards. Complete and extensive background investigations must be done regularly on all police officer before and during service to ensure they are ethical in their duties. All inappropriate conduct reported about police should be thoroughly investigated to keep out rouge officers. Model police officers should be awarded to give the force morale to keep doing their work of upholding justice. As public servants the police owe their services to the society and thus cannot allow themselves to incur favors or become indebted to anyone (Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. 1991). The topic of ethics and ethical conduct should be regularly addressed by all the concerned parties and emphasis should be put on the importance of upholding ethical standards. It is only through proper training, ethical leadership and solid hiring practices and written codes of ethics will our criminal justice system prosper. The police impacts the lives of all of us, particularly the poor, in a big way. The Indian Police is universally regarded as a corrupt, insensitive, immoral and indisciplined organisation of oppressors, which led Justice A.N. Mulla to comment even 50 years ago that it is the largest organised gang of armed criminals in the country. That is largely because the police in India was set up by the Imperial British government for preserving British Rule and not to serve the Indian people. Several commissions, including the Dharam Vira police commission in 1982, have recommended the comprehensive restructuring of the Indian police. The Supreme Court ordered such restructuring six years ago. But successive governments have resisted these reforms, not willing to let go of their control over the police, which they have abused in their own interests.
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Corruption in international aspect Bribery and corruption is a way of life in many countries. These practices affect the way international business is regularly conducted. However, in most of these countries, it is illegal to offer or receive bribes or engage in corrupt practices. Yet corrupt practices are a part of the culture of doing businesses. Unless companies conform to such practices, in many cases, international business cannot be transacted. This paper will attempt to provide discussion about bribery and corruption in international trade example in vary different point of view in according to the principal ethical system suchlike religious, philosophical and natural. It will anayize the case of Siemens bribery scandal related to ethical issues. Bribery is a most important issue of concern to many companies. Incidents of bribery vary across many countries. Not everyone has the same opinion about this issue. Hong Kong and Greek managers are less critical of bribery in certain situations than Americas. Paying bribery carries with it a great risk to damaging the company reputation with the country which the briberies are paid and at home. Moreover, there is also the risk that the corporate culture of the company will become more open-minded of several of other practices at the legal issues. There is also evidence to suggest that those countries with the reputation for bribery and corruption damage themselves as it reflects in their economic growth has a low rates for high level of corruption. Corruption can be grand in which run through government ministers, head of state and senior officials, it is all about distortion of decision making where there is a lot of government, there is a lot of bribery. (The Economist 2006 p132). On the other hand, petty corruption run through immigration officers or low paid officers is done by remove democracy delays. The distinction between international and domestic corruption is that normally international is involved with grand corruption and petty corruption is involved in domestic corruption. Bribery of public officials takes place to obtain government contracts or to get officials to do what they should be doing anyway. The problem with countries that use a legal basis for ethical behavior is that laws vary between countries. Not all moral values are common to every culture and strong governments may try to impose their legal and ethical practices to the foreign countries. Nevertheless, companies that do business with United States are facing difficult enforcement of laws against overseas bribery there really is a firm belief that corruption undermines democracy and is bad for business (Financial Times 2007 p5). It believes all current merges and acquisitions have also led to more cases of bribery.
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Administrative reforms to prevent corruption Monopoly + Discretion - Accountability = Corruption The following should be classified as offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act: Gross perversion of the Constitution and democratic institutions amounting to willful violation of oath of office Abuse of authority unduly favoring or harming someone Obstruction of justice Squandering public money Prior sanction should not be necessary for prosecuting a public servant who has been trapped red- handed or in cases of possessing assets disproportionate to the known sources of income. The Prevention of Corruption Act should be amended to ensure that sanctioning authorities are not summoned and instead the documents can be obtained and produced before the courts by the appropriate authority. The Presiding Officer of a House of Legislature should be designated as the sanctioning authority for MPs and MLAs respectively. The requirement of prior sanction for prosecution now applicable to serving public servants should also apply to retired public servants for acts performed while in service. In all cases where the Government of India is empowered to grant sanction for prosecution, this power should be delegated to an Empowered Committee comprising the Central Vigilance Commissioner and the Departmental Secretary to Government. In case of a difference of opinion between the two, the matter could be resolved by placing it before the full Central Vigilance Commission. In case, sanction is required against a Secretary to Government, then the Empowered Committee would comprise the Cabinet Secretary and the Central Vigilance Commissioner. Similar arrangements may also be made at the State level. In all cases the order granting sanction for prosecution or otherwise shall be issued within two months. In case of refusal, the reasons for refusal should be placed before the respective legislature annually. In addition to the penalty in criminal cases, the law should provide that public servants who cause loss to the state or citizens by their corrupt acts should be made liable to make good the loss caused and, in addition, be liable for damages. This could be done by inserting a chapter in the Prevention of Corruption Act. A legal provision needs to be introduced fixing a time limit for various stages of trial. This could be done by amendments to the CrPC. Corruption in the field of law
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Steps have to be taken to ensure that judges declared as Special Judges under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act give primary attention to disposal of cases under the Act. Only if there is inadequate work under the Act, should the Special Judges be entrusted with other responsibilities. It has to be ensured that the proceedings of courts trying cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act are held on a day-to-day basis, and no deviation is permitted. The Supreme Court and the High Courts may lay down guidelines to preclude unwarranted adjournments and avoidable delays. The Prevention of Corruption Act should be suitably amended to include in its purview private sector providers of public utility services. Non-Governmental agencies, which receive substantial funding, should be covered under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Norms should be laid down that any institution or body that has received more than 50% of its annual operating costs, or a sum equal to or greater than Rs 1 crore during any of the preceding 3 years should be deemed to have obtained 'substantial funding' for that period and purpose of such funding. The Corrupt Public Servants (Forfeiture of Property) Bill as suggested by the Law Commission should be enacted without further delay. Steps should be taken for immediate implementation of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988. (a) Legislation should be enacted immediately to provide protection to whistleblowers on the following lines proposed by the Law Commission: Whistleblowers exposing false claims, fraud or corruption should be protected by ensuring confidentiality and anonymity, protection from victimization in career, and other administrative measures to prevent bodily harm and harassment. The legislation should cover corporate whistleblowers unearthing fraud or serious damage to public interest by willful acts of omission or commission. A new law on 'Serious Economic Offences' should be enacted. (b) A Serious Economic Offence may be defined as: (i) One which involves a sum exceeding Rs 10 crores; or (ii) Is likely to give rise to widespread public concern; or (iii) Its investigation and prosecution are likely to require highly specialized knowledge of the financial market or of the behaviour of banks or other financial institutions; or (iv) Involves significant international dimensions; or (v) In the investigation of which there is requirement of legal, financial, investment and investigative skills to be brought together; or Corruption in the field of law
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(c) A Serious Frauds Office (SFO) should be set up (under the new law), to investigate and prosecute such offences. It should be attached to the Cabinet Secretariat. This office shall have powers to investigate and prosecute all such cases in Special Courts constituted for this purpose. The SFO should be staffed by experts from diverse disciplines. The Commission, while endorsing the suggestion of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, recommends that suitable amendments be effected to Article 105(2) of the Constitution to provide that the immunity enjoyed by Members of Parliament does not cover corrupt acts committed by them in connection with their duties in the House or otherwise. Article 311 of the Constitution should be repealed. Simultaneously, Article 310 of the Constitution should also be repealed. Suitable legislation to provide for all necessary terms and conditions of services should be provided under Article 309, to protect the bona fide actions of public servants taken in public interest; this should be made applicable to the States. Necessary protection to public servants against arbitrary action should be provided through such legislation under Article 309. The Constitution should be amended to provide for a national Ombudsman to be called the Rashtriya Lokayukta. The role and jurisdiction of the Rashtriya Lokayukta should be defined in the Constitution while the composition, mode of appointment and other details can be decided by Parliament through legislation. The jurisdiction of Rashtriya Lokayukta should extend to all Ministers of the Union (except the Prime Minister), all state Chief Ministers, all persons holding public office equivalent in rank to a Union Minister, and Members of Parliament. In case the enquiry against a public functionary establishes the involvement of any other public official along with the public functionary, the Rashtriya Lokayukta would have the power to enquire against such public servant(s) also. The Prime Minister should be kept out of the jurisdiction of the Rashtriya Lokayukta. The Rashtriya Lokayukta should consist of a serving or retired Judge of the Supreme Court as the Chairperson, an eminent jurist as Member and the Central Vigilance Commissioner as the ex- officio Member. The Chairperson of the Rashtriya Lokayukta should be selected from a panel of sitting Judges of the Supreme Court who have more than three years of service, by a Committee consisting of the Vice President of India, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India. In case it is not possible to appoint a sitting Judge, the Committee may appoint a retired Supreme Court Judge. The same Committee may select the Member (i.e. an eminent jurist) of the Rashtriya Lokayukta. The Chairperson and Member of the Rashtriya Lokayukta should be appointed for only one term of three years and they should not hold any public office under the government thereafter, the Corruption in the field of law
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only exception being that they can become the Chief Justice of India, if their services are so required. The Rashtriya Lokayukta should also be entrusted with the task of undertaking a national campaign for raising the standards of ethics in public life. On lokayukta The Constitution should be amended to incorporate a provision making it obligatory on the part of State Governments to establish the institution of Lokayukta and stipulate the general principles about its structure, power and functions. The Lokayukta should be a multi-member body consisting of a judicial Member in the Chair, an eminent jurist or eminent administrator with impeccable credentials as Member and the head of the State Vigilance Commission {as referred in para 4.4.9(e) below} as ex-officio Member. The Chairperson of the Lokayukta should be selected from a panel of retired Supreme Court Judges or retired Chief Justices of High Court, by a Committee consisting of the Chief Minister, Chief Justice of the High Court and the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly. The same Committee should select the second Member from among eminent jurists/administrators. There is no need to have an Up-Lokayukta. The jurisdiction of the Lokayukta would extend to only cases involving corruption. They should not look into general public grievances. The Lokayukta should deal with cases of corruption against Ministers and MLAs. Each State should constitute a State Vigilance Commission to look into cases of corruption against State Government The Anti Corruption Bureaus should be brought under the control of the State Vigilance Commission. The Chairperson and Members of the Lokayukta should be appointed strictly for one term only and they should not hold any public office under government thereafter. The Lokayukta should have its own machinery for investigation. Initially, it may take officers on deputation from the State Government, but over a period of five years, it should take steps to recruit its own cadre, and train them properly. All cases of corruption should be referred to Rashtriya Lokayukta or Lokayukta and these should not be referred to any Commission of Inquiry.
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Conclusion Corruption in law field or in any field would flourish as long as there are people who are prepared to give bribes and ot her s who ar e pr epar ed t o accept i t , di r ect l y or i ndi r ect l y. I t i s not di f f i cul t t o l ocat e t he causes of corruption. Corruption generally breeds at the top and then filters down to lower levels. Mark Twain had once said, Corruption is like weather. Everyone knows about it but no one can do anything about it. But, sure, something can be done to protect ourselves from it as we can do something to protect ourselves from inclement weather. This something is to build public opinion for a clean and transparent government and refuse to cooperate with the corrupt. The criminal justice system of India is seen as lethargic and inefficient by citizens. It has to be made quick and efficient. The departmental superiors have to ensure that their subordinat es do not indulge in corruption and if they do, they are dealt with promptly and adequately. The recent quick trial of a Lt. Gen. of the Army on charge of involvement in a land scam lends hope that the system has not totally collapsed and has resilience. Corruption can be eradicated from India provided people from all walks of life maintain a high level of honesty, integrity and morality. Also India can become a nation free of corruption if the problems of poverty, malnutrition and illiteracy are addressed.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY/WEBLIOGRAPHY 1. The Indian Express Journalism of courage.
2. India Today-A Times group weekly magazine.
3. The economist
4. Wikipedia-The free encyclopedia
5. www.indiaagainstcorruption.org
6. Newspapers- The Hindu, the Times of India, etc. ss 7. www.preservearticles.com