7,072 Corruption Cases Investigated By CBI Pending Trial In Courts, 379 Stuck For Over 20 Years: CVC Report

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has said that 7,072 corruption cases investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) were pending trial in different courts as on 31 December 2024, with 2,660 cases pending for more than 10 years, The Hindu reported .

Of the total cases, 1,506 were pending for less than three years, 791 for more than three years and up to five years, and 2,115 for more than five years and up to 10 years, as on December 31, 2024, it said.

Further, a total of 2,281 such corruption cases were pending trial for more than 10 years and up to 20 years, and 379 for more than 20 years.

According to the report, 13,100 appeals and revisions filed by the CBI and accused persons were pending before various High Courts and the Supreme Court.

Of these, 606 have been pending for more than 20 years, while 1,227 were between 15–20 years old and 2,989 between 10–15 years old.

In 2024, judgments were delivered in 644 cases, leading to 392 convictions, 154 acquittals, 21 discharges, and 77 disposals for other reasons.

The conviction rate stood at 69.14 per cent, compared to 71.47 per cent in 2023.

By the end of 2024, a total of 11,384 court cases, including non-corruption matters, were pending under trial in various courts.

The report noted that 807 cases were registered by the CBI in 2024, comprising 674 regular cases and 133 preliminary inquiries.

Of these, 111 were taken up on orders from constitutional courts and 61 on references from state governments and Union Territories.

During the year, the CBI laid 222 traps in bribery cases and registered 43 disproportionate assets cases.

It completed investigations in 1,005 cases, including 856 regular cases and 149 preliminary inquiries, during 2024.

Still, 832 cases remained pending by year-end, of which 445 regular cases were older than one year.

The CBI registered 502 cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act in 2024, involving 859 public servants, including 221 gazetted officers.

As of December 2024, 529 corruption cases were pending investigation, 56 of which were older than five years.

The CVC observed delays in probes due to excessive workload, shortage of manpower, slow responses to Letters Rogatory, and delays in prosecution sanction.

It also cited the time required to examine voluminous records in bank fraud and economic offence cases and to trace witnesses in remote locations.

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