The Andhra Pradesh Promotion of Social Audit and Prevention of Corrupt Practices Act, 2012.

THE ANDHRA PRADESH PROMOTION OF SOCIAL AUDIT  AND
   PREVENTION OF CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT, 2012
ACT No. 3 OF 2012
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTIONS
1.  Short title, extent and commencement
2.  Definitions
3.  Power to establish  Special Mobile Courts
4. Cases triable by Special Magistrates
5.  Enquiry and complaint
6.  Cognizance of offences
7.  Appointment of  Special Prosecutor
8.  Trial of offences
9.  Offences and Penalties
10.  Appeal
11. Matters to be taken into consideration for fixing fine
12. Accused person to be a competent witness
13.  Protection to social audit teams and its members for actions taken in good
       faith
 14.  Act to be in addition to other laws
15.  Power to issue directions
16.  Power to make rules
17.  Repeal of Ordinance 1 of 2012
THE ANDHRA PRADESH PROMOTION OF SOCIAL AUDIT  AND
   PREVENTION OF CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT, 2012
ACT No. 3 OF 2012.
[ 12thApril , 2012]
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE TRIAL OF OFFENCES COMMITTED BY
PERSONS INDULGING IN CORRUPT PRACTICES DURING IMPLEMEN-
TATION OF GOVERNMENT SCHEMES AND PROGRAMMES INCLUDING
THOSE AS BROUGHT OUT BY SOCIAL AUDIT AND FOR MATTERS
CONNECTED THEREWITH OR INCIDENTAL THERETO.
Whereas Government is implementing many development schemes and
programmes, either fully or partly funded from the State’s Exchequer, meant
for the economic betterment of the poor;
And whereas social audit is being conducted by the Government as a
means to empower the people and to facilitate a public scrutiny of the
implementation of the Government development schemes and programmes in
the utilization of funds in the prescribed manner;
And whereas several irregularities in the execution of the above schemes
and programmes are being brought to the notice of the Government causing a
great concern;
And whereas due to the large number of such irregularities being
brought out in the social audits, it has become necessary to curb such
activities by suitably punishing the persons responsible for such offences;
And whereas it has become expedient to establish Special Mobile Courts
for the trial of offences found to have been committed in the social audit and to
facilitate expeditious disposal of these cases;
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Andhra Pradesh in the
Sixty third Year of the Republic of India as follows:
1. Short title, extent and commencement -(1) This Act may be called the
Andhra Pradesh Promotion of Social Audit and Prevention of Corrupt  Practices
Act, 2012.
(2) It extends to whole of the State of Andhra Pradesh and applies to all
persons residing in the State of Andhra Pradesh or concerned with the
implementation of various Government schemes and programmes subjected to
social audit.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force with effect from the 19th
August, 2011.
2. Definitions - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "Assistant Project Director" means an officer appointed by
the Commissioner Rural Development for overseeing the
implementation of the schemes and programmes above the Mandal
level;
(b) "Corrupt practice” means an act or omission made by any
functionary entrusted with a task by the concerned Authority of
Government with the intention of defrauding Government or
depriving the beneficiaries for whom the various Government
schemes and programmes are intended;
(c) "Court" means a Special Mobile Court established under
section 3;
(d) "Government" means the State Government of Andhra
Pradesh;
(e) "Notification" means a notification published in the Andhra
Pradesh Gazette and the word "notified" shall be construed
accordingly;
(f) "Observer" means an officer not less than the rank of
Tahsildar working in a district deputed by the District Collector to
attend the Social Audit Gram Sabha;
(g) "Offence" means any act or omission made punishable under
this Act;
(h)   "Prescribed" means prescribed by the Government by rules
made under this Act;
(i)   "Social Audit" means public auditing of the details of
implementation of any Government schemes and programmes
including by way of ground level verification of works, pay orders
or other records with reference to beneficiaries of the scheme and
programmes conducted by the primary stakeholders with the
active involvement of the Society for Social Audit, Accountability
and Transparency (SSAAT);
(j)      "Social Auditors" means the beneficiaries or members from
the beneficiary families identified by the SSAAT, trained in Social
Audit processes and who will carry out the Social Audits and
present the findings in the Social Audit Gram Sabha;
(k)     "Social Audit Gram Sabha" means a Gram Sabha specially
convened on the conclusion of the social audit process in which
the Social Audit report is read out;
(l)     "Social Audit Mandal Public Hearing" means the social audit
public hearing at the Mandal level conducted by the District
Collector, or any other officer authorised on his behalf, in the
manner prescribed under Social audit rules;
(m)   "Social Audit Rules" means the rules made by Government
for conduct of social audit for various Government schemes and
programmes from time to time;
(n)  "Society for Social audit, Accountability and Transparency
(SSAAT)" means the Society, which is the apex body at the State
level for overseeing the process of social audits, registered by the
Government under the Andhra Pradesh Societies Registration Act,
2001 (Act 35 of 2001) mandated to facilitate conducting of social
audit of various Government schemes and programmes;
(o)  "Special Magistrate" means the Magistrate appointed as
such under section 3.
3. Power to establish Special Mobile Courts -(1) The State Government
may, by notification, establish one or more Special Mobile Court(s) in a district
or for contiguous districts where social audit has been carried out to try the
offences under this Act.
 (2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Special
Magistrate to a Special Mobile Court under this Act unless he is or has been a
1st Class Judicial Magistrate under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
(Central Act II of 1974).
4. Cases triable by Special Magistrates -(1) Every offence punishable under
this Act shall be tried by the Special Magistrate for the area within which it was
committed.
 (2) When trying any case, a Special Magistrate may also try any offence,
other than an offence specified under this Act, with which the accused may,
under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973,  be charged at the same trial;
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973, a Special Magistrate shall, as far as practicable, hold the trial
of an offence/corrupt practice in the village where the offence/corrupt practice
is committed and as far as possible on a day-to-day basis.
5.Enquiryand complaint - (1) The social audit report finalised in the Social
audit Mandal Public Hearing shall be considered as enquiry report for the
purposes stated under this Act.
(2) Assistant Project Director shall, based on the report of the social audit
after due verification or on the direction issued by the Government, file a
complaint before the Special Court under this Act.
6. Cognizance of offences - The Special Court shall take cognizance of the
offences and proceed in accordance with the provisions under Chapter XX of
the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
7. Appointment of  Special Prosecutor -The Government shall appoint
Special Prosecutors from out of a panel of advocates prepared in consultation
with the District Judge, for prosecuting the offences under this Act on such
terms and conditions as may be prescribed:
Provided that no advocate having experience of less than five years shall
be eligible for such appointment as Special Prosecutor.
8. Trial of offences –  In trial of offences punishable under this Act, the
procedure specified under the provisions 251 to 259 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure. 1973 shall be followed.
9. Offences and Penalties – (1) Whoever, entrusted with the responsibility of
performing any functions by the Government in relation to the implementation
of any Government scheme or programme, prepares or participates in
preparation of fraudulent records, or tampers a record, to defraud the
Government or the beneficiaries for whom the programme is intended shall be
punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be
less than three months and may extend to two years and shall also be liable to
fine.
(2) Whoever, entrusted with the responsibility for dispensing a benefit to
the targeted people, in implementation of any Government scheme or
programme, misappropriates the benefit, either partially or fully, either on his
own or in collusion with others shall be punished with imprisonment of either
description for a term which shall not be less than three months and may
extend to two years and shall also be liable to fine.
(3) Whoever, entrusted with the responsibility of performing any
functions by the Government in relation to the implementation of any
Government scheme or programme, commits a corrupt practice under this Act,
shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which
shall be not less than three months but which may extend to two years and
shall also be liable to fine.
(4) Whoever conspires to commit, or attempts to commit or abets to
commit any offence punishable under this Act, shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than three
months and may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
10. Appeal - (1) Any person convicted on a trial held by a Special Magistrate
under this Act may appeal to the Court of Sessions under section 374 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 which shall be disposed off within 3 months
from the date of filing such appeal.
(2) If an order of acquittal is passed by the Special Magistrate, an appeal
lies to the Sessions Court/High Court.
11.Matters to be taken into consideration for fixing fine - (1) Where a
sentence or fine is imposed under Section 9, the Court, while fixing the amount
of the fine shall take into consideration the amount or the value of the
property, if any, which the accused person has obtained by committing the
offence, the pecuniary resources of property referred to in that clause for which
the accused person is unable to account satisfactorily.
(2) The Special Magistrate, while trying an offence punishable under this
Act,  shall exercise all the powers and functions exercisable by a District Judge
under the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 1944.
12. Accused person to be a competent witness - (1) Any person charged
with an offence punishable under this Act, shall be a competent witness for the
defence and may give evidence on oath in disproof of the charges made against
him or any person charged together with him at the same trial:
Provided that-
(a) he shall not be called as a witness except at his own
request;
(b) his failure to give evidence shall not be made the
subject of any comment by the prosecution or give rise to
any presumption against himself or any person charged
together with him at the same trial;
13. Protection to social audit teams and its members for actions taken in
good faith -No civil or criminal proceedings shall be taken against the social
audit teams or their members for any acts done in good faith under the
provisions of this Act:
 Provided that any specific complaint on the conduct of any social audit
can be verified by Government and suitable orders can be issued for redressal.
14.Act to be in addition to other laws - The provisions of this Act shall be
in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other law for the time being in
force, and nothing contained herein shall exempt any public servant from any
proceeding which might, apart from this Act, be instituted against him.
15. Power to issue directions - The Government may, from time to time,
issue such orders, instructions and directions not inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder to the officers for the
proper administration of the provisions of this Act, which shall be complied
with by such officers and other persons.
16. Power to make rules- (1) The Government may, by notification, make
rules for carrying out all or any of the purposes of this Act.
(2) Every rule made under this Act shall, immediately after it is made, be
laid before the Legislature of the State, if it is in session and if it is not in
session, in the session immediately following for a total period of fourteen days
which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions and if,
before the expiration of the session in which it is so laid or the session
immediately following the Legislature agrees in making any modification in the
rule or in the annulment of the rule, the rule shall, from the date on which the
modification or annulment is notified, have effect only in such modified form or
shall stand annulled, as the case may be so, however, that any such
modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything
previously done under that rule.
17.  Repeal of Ordinance 1 of 2012 – The Andhra Pradesh Promotion of
Social Audit and Prevention of Corrupt Practices Ordinance, 2012 is hereby
repealed.

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