All the rules in the world will not help if the incident or a particular crime is not reported to the officials. While it is true that we have strict laws and rules, it is also true that they work like a double-edged sword which cuts both ways.
Just take a moment and imagine a scenario, where an individual has to pay a bribe to get some work completed. They can either report the officer or pay the bribe and get it completed.
Now 99 out of 100 times, getting the work done is of priority for a regular person. But there is still that one person who wants to complain against the official and not pay the bribe. This person will not only have to indefinitely postpone their planned work but take on the additional work of providing strong evidence against that officer which will not only have to be admissible in court but also implicate that officer beyond a reasonable doubt. You can imagine how difficult this might get.
If the person decides to do an amateur sting operation on the officer for collecting evidence, he too will be implicated under the same laws because in India, while taking a bribe is a crime; giving bribe is also a crime (hence the analogy of a double-edged sword).
I don’t know if it’s feasible or just plain wishful thinking, but I think anti-corruption laws will work only if there is immunity to the whistleblowers. Maybe people will start reporting the bribes they paid if they knew they wouldn’t be legally implicating themselves too by doing so.
"Power doesn't corrupt
people corrupt power"
