CURRENT AFFAIRS
LOKPAL AND LOKAYUKTA
Jurisdiction of Lokpal includes Prime Minister, Ministers, members of
parliament, groups A, B, c and D officers and officials of Central
of Lokpal for the Uniom and Lokayukta for States.
Government. Jurisdiction of Lokpal included the Prime Minister except on
These institutions are statutory bodies without any constitutional status. They allegations of corruption relating to international relations, security, the public
order, atomic energy and space. The Lokpal does not have jurisdiction over
perform the function of an "ombudsman" and inquire into allegations of
Ministers and MPs in the matter of anything said in Parliament or a vote given
corruption against certain public functionaries and for related matters.
there. Its jurisdiction also includes any person who is or has been in charge
In 1809, the institution of ombudsman was inaugurated officially in Sweden in (director / manager / secretary) of anybody / society set up by central act or
any other body financed / controlled by central government and any other
the 20th century. Ombudsman as an institution developed and grew most
significantly after the Second World War. New Zealand and Norway adopted person involved in act of abetting. The Lokpal Act mandates that all public
officials should furnish the assets and liabilities of themselves as well as their
this system in the year 1962 and it proved to be of great significance in
spreading the concept of the ombudsman. In 1967, on the recommendations respective dependents. It has the powers to superintendence over, and to give
direction to CBI. If Lokpal has referred a case to CBI, the investigating officer
of the Whyatt Report of 1961, Great Britain adopted the institution of the
in such case cannot be transferred without the approval of Lokpal. The inquiry
ombudsman and became the first large nation in the democratic world to
Wing of the Lokpal has been vested with the powers of a civil court. Lokpal
have such a system. In 1966, Guyana became the first developing nation to
has powers of confiscation of assets, proceeds, receipts and benefits arisen or
adopt the concept of the ombudsman. Subsequently, it was further adopted
by Mauritius, Singapore, Malaysia, and India as well. In India, the concept of procured by means of corruption in special circumstances. Lokpal has the
constitutional ombudsman was first proposed by the then law minister Ashok power to recommend transfer or suspension of public servant connected with
Kumar Sen in parliament in the early 1960s. The term Lokpal and Lokayukta allegation of corruption. Lokpal has the power to give directions to prevent the
destruction of records during the preliminary inquiry.
were coined by Dr. L.M. Singhvi. In 1966, the First Administrative Reforms
Commission recommended the setting up of two independent authorities at
The institution of Lokpal has tried to bring a much needed change in the battle
the central and state level, to look into complaints against public
against corruption in the administrative structure of India but at the same time,
functionaries, including MPs. In 1968, Lokpal bill was passed in Lok Sabha
there are loopholes and lacunae which need to be corrected. Five years have
but lapsed with dissolution of Lok Sabha and since then it has lapsed in the
passed since the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013 was passed by Parliament,
Lok Sabha many times, till 2011 eight attempts were made to pass the Bill,
but all met with failure. In 2002, the commission to Review the Working of the but not a single Lokpal has been appointed till date indicating the lack of
Constitution headed by M.N. Venkatachaliah recommended the appointment political will. The Lokpal act also called upon states to appoint a Lokayukta
of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas; also recommended that the PM be kept out of within a year of its coming to force. But only 16 states have established the
Lokayuktas. Lokpal is not free from political influence as the appointing
the ambit of the authority. In 2005, the Second Administrative Reforms
committee itself consist of members from political parties. The appointment of
Commission chaired by Veerappa Moily recommended that the office of
Lokpal should be established without delay. In 2011, the government formed Lokpal can be manipulated in a way as there is no criterion to decide who is
an 'eminent jurist' or ' a person of integrity'. The 2013 act did not provide
a Group of Ministers, chaired by Pranab Mukherjee to suggest measures to
concrete immunity to the whistle blowers. The provision for initiation of inquiry
tackle corruption and examine the proposal of a Lokpal Bill. "india Against
against the complainant if the accused is found innocent will only discourage
Corruption Movement" led by Anna Hazare put pressure on the United
people from complaining. The biggest lacuna is the exclusion of judiciary from
Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre and resulted in the
the ambit of the Lokpal. The Lokpal is not given any constitutional backing and
passing of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2013, in both the Houses of
Parliament. It received assent from President on 1st January 2014 and came there is no adequate provision for appeal against the Lokpal. The specific
details in relation to the appointment of Lokayukta have been left completely
into force on 16th January 2014.
on the States. To some extent, the need for functional independence of CBI
has been catered to by a change brought forth in the selection process of its
Lokpal is a multi-member body, that consists of one chairperson and a
Director, by this Act. The complaint against corruption cannot be registered
maximum of 8 members. Chairperson of the Lokpal should be either the
after a period of seven years from the date on which the offence mentioned in
former Chief Justice of India or the Former Judge of Supreme Court or an
such complaint is alleged to have been committed.
eminent person with impeccable integrity and outstanding ability, having
The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 provided for the establishment
special knowledge and expertise of minimum 25 years in the matters relating
to anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance including
insurance and banking, law and management. Out of the maximum eight
members, half will be judicial members and minimum 50% of the members
will be from SC / ST / OBC / Minorities and women. The term of office for
Lokpal Chairman and members is 5 years or till the age of 70 years. The
members are appointed by the president on the recommendation of a
selection committee. The selection committee is composed of the Prime
Minister who is the Chairperson; Speaker of Lok Sabha, leader of opposition
in Lok Sabha, chief justice of India or a Judge nominated by him/her and one
eminent jurist. For selecting the chairperson and the members, the
selection committee constitutes a search panel of at least eight persons.
Under the Lokpal Act of 2013, the DoPT is supposed to put together a list of
candidates interested to be the chairperson or members of the Lokpal. This
list would then go to the proposed eight members search committee, which
would shortlists names and place them before the selection panel headed by
the Prime Minister. The selection panel may or may not pick names
suggested by the search committee. In September 2018, the government
had constituted a search committee headed by former supreme court judge
Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. The 2013 Act also provides that all states
should set up the office of the Lokayukta within one year from the
commencement of the Act.
In order to tackle the problem of corruption, the institution of the ombudsman
should be strengthened both in terms of functional autonomy and availability of
manpower. Greater transparency, more right to information and empowerment
of citizens and citizen groups is required along with a good leadership that is
willing to subject itself to public scrutiny. Appointment of Lokpal in itself is not
enough. The government should address the issues based on which people
are demanding a Lokpal. Merely adding to the strength of investigative
agencies will increase the size of the government but not necessarily improve
governance. The slogan adopted by the government of "less government and
more governance", should be followed in the letter and spirit. Moreover, Lokpal
and Lokayukta must be financially, administratively and legally independent of
those whom they are called upon to investigate and prosecute. Lokpal and
Lokayukta appointments must be done transparently so as to minimize the
chances of the wrong sorts of people getting in. There is a need for a
multiplicity of decentralized institutions with appropriate accountability
mechanisms to avoid the concentration of too much power in any one
institution or authority.
article by Advait Nambiar