Imagine a dozen people asked to write down what flats in the same apartment block are worth, and each gives a different figure. That is roughly what an IndiaSpend analysis found among Indian Foreign Service officers.

At least a dozen of them had declared sharply different values for flats in the same apartment block in Delhi's Mayur Vihar. Each had filed a return as the rules demanded, yet the differences raised an important question: who was checking whether the values were accurate?

"That gap between filing a declaration and proving it honest sits at the centre of how India tries to police the wealth of its public servants. Every public servant covered by the Lokpal law must declare assets and liabilities, but the form is only the first link in a longer chain of checks," explains L. Chakrapani, a Chennai-based RTI activist and former senior advocate at the Madras High Court.

Someone has to read these returns, compare them with lawful income and act when the numbers don't add up. Here is how that chain is supposed to work, what the rules actually require today, and where it gets weak.

What officials have to declare

Under Section 44 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, every public servant covered by the Act is required to declare their assets and liabilities in the form and manner prescribed by the government.

The original law required annual returns by 31 July and directed ministries or departments to publish the statements on their websites by 31 August, as set out in a Department of Personnel and Training order. However, the 2016 amendment replaced Section 44 and removed these specific requirements from the Act.

In December 2016, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said that returns under the amended Lokpal provision did not need to be filed until fresh rules were notified. In September 2022, it confirmed that those rules had still not been issued.

Under the original Lokpal framework, the declaration covered the whole household. It included the assets and liabilities of the officer's spouse and dependent children.

Officers of the IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service already had a similar duty under the All India Services conduct rules, which ask for a return on first appointment.

An India Today investigation reported that the return must list immovable property, shares, debentures, postal time deposits, cash including bank deposits, other movable property, and debts and liabilities.

It also noted that the rules cover property held in an officer's own name, a family member's name, or anyone else's name.

These service-specific requirements continue to matter even where the separate Lokpal declaration framework has been delayed. For example, IPS officers must file annual immovable property returns by 31 January under the All India Services conduct rules.

That last part is telling. The rulebook also accounts for the possibility of officers holding wealth through other people, which is why the checks after the form matter as much as the form itself.

Check one: Did the form even arrive?

This is the simplest check, because authorities can identify who has failed to submit a required return.

The Central Vigilance Commission has told central government officials that not filing property returns gives "good and sufficient reasons for instituting disciplinary action". It expressed deep concern over prolonged delays and in 2020 set 30 November as the deadline for 100% compliance.

Even........

© The Better India