How Lokpal's appointment got stuck in legal technicalities and politics

More than legal complexities, the Lokpal has been a victim of politics of the two biggest parties in the country.

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How Lokpal's appointment got stuck in legal technicalities and politics
Anna Hazare during the Lokpal movement.

In Short

  • Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act was passed in 2013.
  • Lokayukta law came into force in January, 2014.
  • Lokpal Amendment Bill is stuck in Parliament.

The Supreme Court has rapped the Narendra Modi government for sitting over the appointment of Lokpal - the highest chair in the anti-graft constitutional set up. The country is yet to have a Lokpal even more than three years after the enabling Act was passed by Parliament.

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act was passed by Parliament in December 2013. It came close on the heels of the anti-graft movement launched by India Against Corruption, which attracted protesters from across the country.

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The law empowers Lokpal at national level and Lokayuktas in the states to prevent corruption in high offices. The Lokpal law came into force in January, 2014.

According to the law, appointment of the Lokpal is a two-tier process.

WHAT LAW SAYS ABOUT LOKPAL'S APPOINTMENT

Under the existing law, the appointment of Lokpal begins with a selection panel that comprises of the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Speaker, the Chief Justice of India and a prominent jurist.

The selection panel did meet during the Manmohan Singh government. It formed a search panel headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice KT Thomas.

The other members of the search panel included noted jurist Fali Nariman, former Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureshi, former nominated member of the Rajya Sabha HK Dua, educationist Mrinal Miri, former chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh Kaki Madhava Rao and principal of Delhi's Lady Sri Ram College Meenakshi Gopinath.

The search panel could not get to business as Fali Nariman refused to join the search panel citing procedural shortcomings. Justice Thomas too quit reiterating Nariman's argument that the search panel would not be able to appoint the most competent person as the Lokpal.

Both Nariman and Justice Thomas objected to the list of the candidates given by the government. Under the existing procedure, the search panel is required to finalise a name forwarded to it by the selection panel.

The selection panel had then prepared a list of 305 persons, from whom the search panel was to choose a name. The search panel would not have gone beyond looking for a suitable Lokpal candidate.

2014 AND MODI GOVERNMENT

The Manmohan Singh government did not have enough time to form a new search panel as the elections were announced. The UPA was voted out and Narendra Modi government was sworn in after the 2014-general elections.

The Narendra Modi government did not form the selection panel saying that it required an amendment in the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act of 2013.

As the law requires the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha to be member of the selection panel, the government introduced an Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha in 2016 - two years after coming into power. It has been passed by the Lok Sabha.

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Interestingly, corruption was one of the prominent issues in the parliamentary polls, in which the Congress, though emerged as the largest Opposition party it fell short of the numbers necessary for its leader in the Lok Sabha to be accorded the status of the Leader of Opposition in the House.

There is no designated Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and hence, there is no question of holding a meeting of the selection panel. The government conveyed this to the Supreme Court a couple of times. Now, the Supreme Court does not seem to be impressed with the argument.

THE LOKPAL AMENDMENT BILL

The Lokpal Amendment Bill proposed changes in the Act providing for the leader of the largest Opposition party to be part of the selection panel. But, the amendment bill also proposed some other changes.

The other significant change introduced by the amendment bill, the Opposition alleges, dilutes the anti-graft nature of the Lokpal Act.

Under the Lokpal Act a public servant is required to declare assets and liabilities of the self, spouse and dependent children. Such declarations must be made to the competent authority within 30 days of entering office.

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The public servant is also required to file an annual return of assets by July 31 every year. The details of the assets are to be published on the relevant ministry's website by August 31.

The amendment bill passed by the Lok Sabha removes the condition of form and manner of making the declaration by the public servant.

Opposition is not ready to approve all the amendments in the Rajya Sabha while the government is not ready to drop the changes made with regard to the public servant's asset declaration.

The Lokpal Amendment Bill is stuck in the tug-of-war between the government and the Opposition parties while Supreme Court expresses its anguish over delay in appointment of first Lokpal in the country.

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