Last Saturday, within hours of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return to Delhi from an overseas(विदेशी) tour, the Union Cabinet approved the promulgation(प्रचार/घोषणा) of the Fugitive(भगोड़ा/पलायक) Economic Offenders Ordinance, 2018. A fugitive is defined as someone who has left India to avoid criminal prosecution(अभियोग/अभियोजन) or who is already overseas and refuses to return to face the law. In recent weeks, banks have been asked to mandatorily (अनिवार्य)collect passport details of those borrowing (उधार/कर्ज लेना) above ₹50 crore, and the passports of some wilful defaulters are being impounded(जब्त)too. Given that the proposed legislation(क़ानून/विधि) was announced well over a year ago, the trigger for this belated haste(जल्दी/हड़बड़ी) is easy to see. While presenting Budget 2017-18, the Finance Minister referred to instance(उदाहरणों/घटना)s of offenders fleeing the country to escape(पलायनसुरक्षित निकल जाना) its justice system, and said the government was looking at a law to confiscate(ज़ब्त करना) the assets(संपत्ति) of such persons till they return to face the law. By September, the Finance and Law Ministries had agreed on a draft Bill, but it was only introduced in the Lok Sabha this March, in a session that proved to be a washout. The government is no doubt conscious of the clamour for tough action on absconding(फरार) offenders, particularly those involved in financial misdemeanours(दुष्कर्म/अपराध) and wilful defaulters of bank loans.
There remains great consternation over liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s flight from the country, with his now-defunct(निर्जीव)Kingfisher Airlines having run up outstanding loans of over ₹9,000 crore from Indian banks. Both Mr. Mallya and former Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi, who faces an Enforcement(प्रवर्तन/लागू करना) Directorate(निदेशालय/प्रबंध-विभाग)probe for foreign exchange law violations(उल्लंघन), are in Britain. They left Indian shores(आधार) for safer climes under the NDA government’s watch, as did diamond merchants Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and their associates, whose firms defrauded(ढकोसला किया गया) the country’s second largest public sector bank of over ₹12,800 crore. India is no closer to getting Mr. Modi or Mr. Mallya back to face the law, with extradition(प्रत्यर्पण) proceedings against the latter crawling through U.K. courts. No clear indications(संकेत/सूचना) about whether their return could be expedited emerged(उभरा) during(के दौरान)Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with his British counterpart Theresa May last week. Meanwhile, though government agencies have attached the diamond merchant duo’s assets in India, an American court has disallowed(अनुमति नहीं) the sale of their assets in other jurisdictions while allowing their U.S.-based entity to offload its assets. The reason: India is yet to pass a model law mooted(बहस करना) by the UN for cross-border insolvency(दिवालियापन) cases. It is not clear whether this ordinance can tide over this major handicap. The government may have opted for the ordinance route to deflect(मोड़ना/हटाना) the heat from these cases of fraud, but it needs to present a coherent(सुसंगत) vision(दृष्टि) about its plans to bring back those fugitives who have already got away and plug the remaining loopholes(कमियां/बचाव का रास्ता) in the system.
Important Vocabulary
1.Promulgation(प्रचार/घोषणा)
Synonyms: dissemination, proclamation, advertisement, advice, annunciation
Antonyms: concealment, quiet, secret, suppression
2.Fugitive(भगोड़ा/पलायक)
Synonyms: elusive, wanted, brief, criminal, ephemeral
Antonyms: enduring, lasting, lengthy, long, permanent
3.Escape(पलायनसुरक्षित निकल जाना)
Synonyms: breakout, departure, desertion, disappearance, flight, freedom
Antonyms: arrival, coming, entrance, stay, staying
4.Confiscate(ज़ब्त करना)
Synonyms: appropriate, expropriate, impound, annex, arrogate
Antonyms: give, offer
5.Defrauded(ढकोसला किया गया)
Synonyms: circumvent, con, deceive, dupe, embezzle
Antonyms: aid, assist, be honest, give, help
6.Enforcement(प्रवर्तन/लागू करना)
Synonyms: administration, application, imposition, prosecution, coercion
Antonyms: abandon, disregard, forgetfulness, neglect, renunciation
7.Extradition(प्रत्यर्पण)
Synonyms: deportation, expulsion, banishment, expatriation, ostracism
Credit To The Hindu News Paper
