Vision
To create a dynamic and result oriented Anti Corruption system in terms of
• Professionalism,
• Effective implementation of Law,
• Efficiency.

Mission
To effectively enforce Anti Corruption Laws with integrity & impartiality strive to achieve the highest standards in the duties we perform, the services we render & the professionalism we display.

Strategy
Focus Areas -
• Exercising effective Corruption control,
• Effective implementation of laws against corrupt officials,
• Booking the corrupt elements & thereby preventing heavy loss to the State Exchequer,
• Collecting intelligence with regard to Disproportionate Assets, Misuse of Powers i.e. Criminal Misconduct by Corrupt
Government Officials,
• Preventing & Detecting Corruption related crime.

Values
• Integrity : To maintain the high standards of Integrity through an unbiased application of policies & practices
• Courtesy : To treat each member of the Public and their complaints with Respect, Courtesy & Compassion.
• Efficiency : Be tough, assertive and appreciative of different perspectives to meet the specific needs of our mission.
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(i) The Maharashtra State Anti-Corruption Bureau was constituted under the Government of Maharashtra, Home Department, Resolution No. ACB. 1857/C-3019-V, dated the 26th November 1957, with a view to eradicating the evil of bribery and corruption.

(ii) The Bureau has its Headquarters at Mumbai and functions under the overall control and supervision of the Director, ACB, appointed by the Government under Government Resolution, Home Department, No. ACB. 1857/ C-3019-V, dated the 7th April, 1959. The Director who was earlier of the rank of a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, was given the status of Head of the Department. The post was later upgraded to that of a Director
General of Police. The Director is independent of the state Director General of Police and functions directly under the administrative control of Government in the Home Department.

(iii) At the Headquarter, the Director is assisted, among others, by following officers.
• One Additional Director General of Police.
• One Inspector General of Police.
• Seven Officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police for the rural areas and one Assistant Commissioner of Police in Greater Mumbai.
• Three Deputy Directors, one each from
- the Public Works Department, of the rank of Executive Engineer
- the Forests Department, of the rank of Divisional Forest Officer and
- the Revenue Department, of the rank of Deputy Collector
• One Legal Adviser (an Additional Public Prosecutor).

The officers on deputation from the PWD, Forest and Revenue Departments tender advice to the Bureau Officers in matter relating to their respective departments. All these officers are stationed in Mumbai.

(iv) There are eight Units / Ranges of this Bureau, with headquarters at Mumbai, Thane, Nasik, Pune, Amravati, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nanded. Except Mumbai, each of these units is in charge of an Superintendent of Police with the requisite subordinate staff attached to it. An officer of the rank of Addl. Commissioner of Police is in charge of the Mumbai unit of the Anti Corruption Bureau.

(v) A Deputy Superintendent of Police of this Bureau is stationed in each District, in the rural areas.

(vi) Addl. Director General of Police or Inspector General of Police exercises general check over the work of these eight Units.

Corruption emerged as a malaise affecting public services during the Second World War and continued to spread its tentacles despite the best efforts of the administration. As the Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption, appointed by the Government of India, observed in its report, published in March 1964 :


“ The rapid expansion of Governmental activities in new fields afforded to the unscrupulous elements in public service and public life unprecedented opportunities for acquiring wealth by dubious methods. To this must be added the unfortunate decline of the real income of various sections of the community and particularly that of the salaried classes, a large part of which is found in Government employment.

……The assumption of new responsibilities by the Government has resulted in the multiplication of administrative process. Administrative power and discretion are vested at different levels of the executive, all the members of which are not endowed with the same level of understanding and strength of character.”


While bribery has all along been an offence since the time the Indian Penal Code came to be enacted in 1860, the circumstances during the Second World War and thereafter compelled the Government of India to give serious consideration to the problem of corruption. This led to the enactment of the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1947, which was later amended in 1988. The statement of Objects and Reasons of the original Bill stated :-


“ The scope for bribery and corruption of public servants had been enormously increased by war conditions and though the war is now over, opportunities for corrupt practices will remain for a considerable time to come. Contracts are being terminated ; large amounts of Government surplus stores are being disposed of ; there will, for some years, be shortages of various kinds requiring the imposition of controls; and extensive schemes of post-war reconstruction, involving the disbursement of very large sums of Government money, have been and are being elaborated. All these activities offer wide scope for corrupt practices and the seriousness of the evil and the possibility of its continuance or extension in the future are such as to justify immediate and drastic action to stamp it out.”

Later, the Criminal Law Amendment Act, XL VI of 1952, was enacted to provide for speedy trial by Special Judges and to tighten up the procedure.

Even before the enactment of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the then Government of Bombay directed, in 1946, the constitution of the Anti-Corruption Branch in Greater Bombay as a distinct unit charged with the duty of taking up cases of bribery and corruption. In course of time, this grew into the present Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Maharashtra State.

The Anti Corruption Bureau symbolizes the importance attached by the state government to cleanliness in public life. ACB Maharashtra has been striving for and achieving excellent results in this regard.

The main Functions of the Bureau are :

• To collect intelligence to detect cases of bribery and corruption falling within the purview of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and to investigate these offences.

• To institute enquiries into complaints made by the members of the public or received from Government officials and from Lokayukta and Upa- Lokayuktas relating to bribery, corruption, criminal misconduct, embezzlement of Government money and other venal practices by public servants.

(ii) With the limited staff available to them, it is not possible for the officers of the Bureau to act as internal vigilance organization of all the departments. The responsibility of rooting out or curbing corruption is that of the Heads of the respective Departments and the Vigilance Officers appointed for this work in different Departments. The Bureau is expected to supplement these efforts. The Bureau will take up only those cases which cannot be investigated or enquired into by the officers of the Departments, especially when, the enquiry involves recording of statements of a large number of witnesses outside not belonging to the concerned department and collection of documents from Banks and other offices. The Bureau investigates such cases thoroughly and ensures that the corrupt officials are brought to book to set an example to others.

(iii) The expression “ public servant “ has been defined in section 21 of the Indian Penal Code and section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Besides this, many enactments, both Central and State, provide that persons appointed, exercising powers or performing functions under them, shall be deemed to be public servants.

(iv) Police Officers attached to the Bureau are competent to investigate cases against all public servants, irrespective of the fact whether the public servant concerned is under the control of the Central Government or of the State Government or of a local or other authority. However, there is a separate agency (i.e. the Central Bureau of Investigation) to deal with cases against Central Government Servants. Hence, to avoid duplication of
work, the officers of the Bureau make enquiries and investigations into complaints only against servants of the State Government, of the statutory Corporations of Bodies set up and financed by the State Government, and of the Municipal Corporations, Nagar Parishads, Zilla Parishads and Panchayats in the state.

Circumstances under which Officers of the Bureau may undertake investigations into complaints against Central Government servants and the procedure to be followed in that behalf.

(i) It has been agreed under an administrative arrangement that the officers of the Bureau may take action against public servants under the control of the Central Government under the following circumstances :-

• Where a trap is laid to catch a Central Government servant red- handed and there is no time to contact any representative of the Special Police Establishment Division of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the trap may be laid by an officer of the Bureau. Thereafter, the Special Police Establishment Division should be informed immediately and it should be decided, in consultation with that agency, whether further investigation
should be carried out and completed by the Bureau or by the Special Police Establishment Division.


• Where there is a likelihood of destruction or suppression of evidence if immediate action is not taken, the Bureau takes steps to secure the evidence against the Central Government servants concerned and thereafter hands over the case to the CBI for further investigation.


(ii) The following procedure is followed in cases against Central Government servants investigated by the officers of the Bureau.

• Cases in which sanction of the Central Government or a Central Government Department or an officer of the Central Government is necessary are referred to the Director, CBI, who then takes necessary steps to obtain the required sanction.

• Cases which are considered fit only for taking departmental action are reported to the Government of India through the Director, CBI, who then communicates to the Bureau, in due course, the result of the action taken by the concerned department of the Central Government.

Powers

(i) All police officers working in the Bureau continue to be “ Police Officers “ and as such have powers vested in them under various Acts.


(ii) According to the Maharashtra Government Order Home Department, No. ACB. 3059-V, dated the 23rd October 1961, whenever any officer of and above the rank of a Police Sub-Inspector of the Anti-Corruption Bureau investigates, at any place in the State, any offence, he is deemed to be an officer-in-charge of the Police Station within the limits of which such place is situate. In view of this order, every Police officer of and above the rank of a Police Sub-Inspector of the Bureau can exercise all powers of an officer-in-charge of a Police Station while investigating any offence at any place in the State.

Jurisdiction

(i) The Anti-Corruption and Prohibition Intelligence Bureau has jurisdiction over the State of Maharashtra, including Greater Bombay, and its officers exercise the powers and functions and have the privileges of Police officers throughout the State. However, for the purpose of administrative convenience, the Bureau is divided into five Units and the staff attached to each of these Units functions in the areas as shown below :-


• Greater Mumbai Unit ---- Greater Mumbai.
• Thane Unit ---- Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg.
• Nashik Unit ---- Nashik, Dhule, Ahmednagar and Jalgaon.
• Pune Unit ---- Pune, Satara, Solapur, Kolhapur and Sangli.
• Nagpur Unit ---- Nagpur, Bhandara, Wardha, Chandrapurand Gadchiroli.
• Aurangabad Unit ---- Aurangabad, Beed, Osmanabad and Jalna.
• Nanded Unit ---- Nanded, Parbhani, and Latur.
• Amaravati Unit ---- Amaravati, Akola, Buldhana and Yavatmal.