Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988: Offences, Penalties and Procedure

The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 is the central law on bribery and corruption involving public servants in India. It punishes a public servant who takes or seeks an undue advantage, anyone who gives or promises one, intermediaries who trade on influence, and companies whose agents pay bribes. The Act took over the bribery offences once found in Sections 161 to 165A of the Indian Penal Code, so the replacement of the IPC by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in 2024 did not move them.

The Act was substantially rewritten by an amendment that came into force on 26 July 2018. It made bribe-giving a direct offence, narrowed criminal misconduct to two situations, created liability for commercial organisations, and required prior approval before the police inquire into a public servant's official decisions. Much older writing on corruption laws in India predates these changes.

Who is a public servant?

Section 2(c) defines ‘public servant’ far more widely than government employees. It includes:

• employees of the Central and State Governments and of local authorities;
• employees of corporations, companies and bodies owned, controlled or aided by the Government, such as public sector banks and undertakings;
• judges and others authorised by law to decide disputes, and persons such as liquidators, receivers and arbitrators appointed by a court or public authority;
• persons who conduct elections or prepare electoral rolls, and anyone holding an office that requires them to perform a public duty;
• office-bearers of registered cooperative societies that receive government aid, members and staff of service commissions, and teachers and employees of universities and government-aided institutions.

Members of Parliament and State Legislatures are also covered. In Sita Soren v. Union of India (2024), a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court held that legislators cannot claim parliamentary privilege against prosecution for taking a bribe to vote or speak in the House. Private individuals are not public servants, but the Act still reaches those who give bribes, act as middlemen or abet an offence.

Offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act after 2018

The key concept is ‘undue advantage’: any gratification other than legal remuneration, and not limited to money. The main offences and punishments are:

Under Section 7, the offence is complete when a public servant obtains, accepts or attempts to obtain an undue advantage with the intention of performing a public duty improperly, even if the duty is never actually performed improperly, and whether the advantage is taken directly or through a third party. Under Section 13(1)(b), a public servant holding assets disproportionate to known sources of income, which they cannot satisfactorily account for, is presumed to have enriched themselves illicitly.

Property acquired through an offence can be attached and forfeited (Section 18A), and these offences are also scheduled offences under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002, so the proceeds can be pursued separately.

How bribery is proved

Many cases rest on a trap: the complainant approaches the investigating agency, which arranges a controlled handover of treated currency notes. The prosecution must prove both the demand and the acceptance of the bribe. In Neeraj Dutta v. State (Government of NCT of Delhi) (2022), a Constitution Bench held that these can be proved by circumstantial evidence where direct evidence is unavailable, for instance because the complainant has died or turned hostile. Once acceptance is proved, Section 20 lets the court presume that it was a motive or reward for improper performance of duty, unless the accused shows otherwise.

Giving a bribe and the seven-day reporting protection

Before 2018, a bribe-giver was usually prosecuted only for abetment. Section 8 now makes it a direct offence to give or promise an undue advantage to any person intending to induce a public servant to perform a public duty improperly, or to reward such performance. The punishment is imprisonment of up to seven years, or fine, or both.

The law recognises that people are sometimes forced to pay. Section 8 does not apply to a person who is compelled to give an undue advantage, provided that person reports the matter to a law enforcement authority or investigating agency within seven days of giving it. Nor does it apply to a person who gives an undue advantage after informing the police, to help an investigation such as a trap. If you are made to pay, note the date, amount, place and names, and report it within the week.