New Delhi, Nov 16: Expressing serious concern over the alarming spread of tentacles of corruption in each sphere of life, the supreme court has observed the adage "every man has a price" was a little generalised but not far from truth. This observation came from a bench comprising Justice Doraiswamy Raju and Justice Arijit Pasayat while allowing an appeal of the Andhra Pradesh government challenging a High Court order acquitting a public servant in a corruption case.
It said the anti-corruption laws have failed to achieve the desired results as they "do not appear to have curbed the growth of corruption".
Observing that in a case involving acceptance of illegal gratification there was no scope for any leniency, the bench said "avarice is a common frailty of mankind, and while Robert Walpole's observation that every man has a price, may be a little generalised, yet it cannot be gainsaid that it is not far from truth".
Justice Pasayat, writing the judgement for the bench, said "the tentacles of corruption are spreading fast in the society corroding the moral fibre and consequentially in most cases the economic structure of the country."
It has assumed alarming proportion in recent times, he said and added the object of the Prevention of Corruption Act enacted in the year of Indian independence was to nip the propensity for being corrupt in the bud.
Bureau Report