Plan for Central Pool of Documentary Proof | 07 Jul 2018

The government is considering a proposal for creating a centralised pool of documentary evidence for expeditious sharing of actionable information on economic offences between various Central investigating agencies.

• The recommendation has been made to overcome the existing procedural and legal hurdles in sharing of evidence between the probe agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate, the Income-Tax Department and the Special Fraud Investigation Office.
• According to the proposal, documentary proof gathered by the respective agencies would be stored at one place and its certified copies shall be made available for the purposes of investigations. It would also be used as evidence in the court of law.
• Such an arrangement would require relevant amendments to the legislation governing each agency in terms of evidence collection.
• A robust and transparent system of sharing information with necessary backup of the law is needed to expedite the process of investigations within various investigating agencies.