In a landmark achievement for anti-corruption efforts, the Odisha Vigilance Directorate has reported a record-shattering case disposal rate of 237% for the year 2025. This performance, revealed in the agency's annual data released on Wednesday, marks a significant leap from the 162% rate recorded in 2024, establishing a new high in the state's history of fighting graft.
Unprecedented Efficiency in Case Resolution
The agency disposed of a total of 479 cases in 2025, a figure that includes both the 202 new cases registered during the year and numerous pending investigations from previous years. Vigilance Director Yeshwant Jethwa attributed this historic performance to a strategic shift in focus. The department prioritized the completion of ongoing investigations with the same intensity as the detection of new offenses, leading to its best-ever disposal outcome.
The legal machinery moved swiftly, resulting in chargesheets being filed against 766 accused individuals. A breakdown of these accused reveals the wide net cast by the agency:
- 76 Class-I officers
- 73 Class-II officers
- 354 Class-III employees
- 8 Class-IV employees
- 35 other public servants
- 220 private persons
Convictions and a Focus on High-Value Assets
The agency's efforts culminated in 108 cases ending in conviction, securing a conviction rate of 50%. In these cases, 135 accused were found guilty, including 20 Class-I officers, 23 Class-II officers, 74 Class-III employees, 2 Class-IV employees, 11 other public servants, and 5 private individuals.
A significant part of the vigilance drive targeted ill-gotten wealth. The agency registered 49 cases related to disproportionate assets (DA), uncovering assets worth approximately Rs 120 crore. Furthermore, its trap teams were highly active, registering 97 cases where 114 people, including 105 government officers, were caught red-handed accepting bribes totaling Rs 26.27 lakh.
The scale of assets unearthed during 2025 investigations is staggering and includes:
- 153 buildings
- 18 kg of gold
- 714 plots of land
- 12 farmhouses
- Bank deposits worth Rs 36.69 crore
- Cash seizures of Rs 8.81 crore
Strengthening Prosecution and Key Arrests
To ensure that investigations translated into convictions, the Vigilance Directorate intensified its monitoring of trials across 22 special vigilance courts. The agency recently bolstered its legal team by appointing 17 cadre public prosecutors and legal consultants to expedite both investigations and court proceedings.
The annual report highlighted that in 2025, the agency arrested 212 individuals, including government officers, following the registration of 202 criminal cases. Notable among those booked were 53 Class-I officers, which included one IAS officer, 36 engineers, 17 forest officials, and 16 police officers.
This comprehensive crackdown underscores the agency's committed push to curb corruption at multiple levels within the public administration and its interfaces with private entities, setting a formidable precedent for transparency and accountability in Odisha.
