CVC Annual Report 2025:
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Annual Report 2025 highlights a severe judicial and investigative backlog, revealing that over 7,200 corruption cases probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988 remain pending trial, with hundreds languishing for over two decades.
Key Findings of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Annual Report 2025:
- Bottlenecks in the Higher Judiciary: The crisis of pendency is not restricted to lower trial courts but extends deep into the appellate system.
- A staggering volume of appeals, writ petitions, and revisions remain unresolved in High Courts and the Supreme Court, severely compounding the delay in final judicial outcomes.
- Pending government sanctions under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988 often delay investigations and prosecutions against public servants.
- Section 17A requires police officers to get prior government approval before conducting any inquiry or investigation into official decisions or recommendations made by public servants.
- Despite the massive pendency, the CBI’s conviction rate marginally improved to 71.71% in 2025, compared to 69.14% in 2024.
- The CBI is operating with a severe manpower shortage, holding 1,088 vacant positions against a sanctioned strength of 7,300, with the highest deficit (672 posts) in the executive ranks.
- Disproportionate asset cases require complex financial verification, while delays in Letters Rogatory (LRs) slow international evidence collection, despite a marginal improvement in CBI convictions.
- The CVC continues complaint disposal and first-stage advice, with many cases leading to major penalty proceedings, strengthening accountability through administrative action.
