A Legislation to this effect has been proposed by the Law Commission of India which has held the Central Vigilance Commissioner and the other Vigilance Commissioners could call upon any public servant believed to be in possession of illegally acquired properties to disclose, properties held by him and his associates.

Vittal was delivering the key-note address at the day long seminar organised by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCAI) on the topic `Frauds in Banks related to cheques, drafts and remittances'.

As per the proposed law, refusal to disclose or a false disclosure entails punishment of imprisonment. The contemplated law would make the very holding of or possession of illegally acquired properties anoffence punishable with imprisonment, which is in addition to the forfeiture of such properties.

The Commissioner who emphasised the need to strengthen the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to tackle corruption, termed it as a crippled organisation with at least 30 per cent vacant posts at the DIG and SP level thereby hampering its functioning.

He underlined the need to protect the CBI from political and bureaucratic interference. Till date, more than 1,800 cases have been under investigation ranging from two years to 12 years. Another 5,000 cases are still being prosecuted from two years to 35 years, he pointed out.