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A Lokpal ( sa, लोकपाल ''lokapāla'', "defender of people" or "People's Friend") is an anti-corruption authority or body of
ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
who represents the public interest in the
Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The current Chairperson of Lokpal is
Pradip Kumar Mohanty Pradip Kumar Mohanty (born 10 June 1955) is an Indian attorney and Jurist currently serving as a Judicial Member of Lokpal Committee since 23 March 2019. He will retire from the post till 70 years of age. He is former Chief Justice of the Jhar ...
. The Lokpal has jurisdiction over
central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...
to inquire into allegations of corruption against its public functionaries and for matters connected to
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
. The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act was passed in 2013 with amendments in parliament, following the Jan Lokpal movement led by
Anna Hazare Kisan Baburao "Anna" Hazare (; born 15 June 1937) is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish corruption in public life. In addition to organising an ...
in 2011. The Lokpal is responsible for enquiring into corruption charges at the national level while the
Lokayukta The Lokayukta (also Lok Ayukta) ( ''lokāyukta'', ''"civil commissioner"'') is the Indian Parliamentary Ombudsman, executed into power, through and for, each of the State Governments of India. It is brought into effect in a state, after passi ...
performs the same function at the
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
level. The age of Lokpal (chairperson or member) on the date of assuming office as the chairperson or a member should not be less than 45 years.


History

The term "Lokpal" was coined by Dr. L.M.Singhvi in 1963. The concept of a constitutional ombudsman was first proposed in parliament by Law Minister
Ashoke Kumar Sen Ashoke Kumar Sen (10 October 1913 – 21 September 1996) was an Indian barrister, a former Cabinet minister of India, and an Indian parliamentarian. He also holds the record for winning a Lok Sabha seat the most times and also the record for b ...
in the early 1960s. The first
Jan Lokpal Bill The Jan Lokpal Bill, also referred to as the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill, was a bill drawn up by civil society activists in India seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body to investigate corruption cases and complete the investi ...
was proposed by Adv
Shanti Bhushan Shanti Bhushan (born 11 November 1925) is an Indian politician and lawyer. He served as the Law Minister of India holding office at the Ministry of Law and Justice from 1977 to 1979 in the Morarji Desai Ministry. He is a senior advocate of the ...
in 1968 and passed in the 4th
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...
in 1969, but did not pass through the
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
. Subsequently, 'lokpal bills' were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, again by Ashoke Kumar Sen, while serving as Law Minister in the
Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...
cabinet, and again in 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008, yet they were never passed. Forty five years after its first introduction and after ten failed attempts, the Lokpal Bill was finally enacted in India on 18 December 2013 after the tenth attempt.
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
gave his assent to Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act on 1 January 2014. The Lokpal Bill provides for the filing, with the ombudsman, of complaints of corruption against the
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
, other
ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...
, MPs,and group A, B, C and D officers of the central government. The first
Administrative Reforms Commission The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) is the committee appointed by the Government of India for giving recommendations for reviewing the public administration system of India. The first ARC was established on 5 January 1966.Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...
in 1968, and was passed there in 1969. However, while it was pending in the
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
, the Lok Sabha was dissolved, and thus the bill lapsed. The bill was revived several times in subsequent years, including in 2011. Each time, after the bill was introduced to the House, it was referred to a committee for improvements, to a joint committee of parliament, or to a departmental standing committee of the Home Ministry. Before the government could take a final stand on the issue, the house was dissolved again. Several conspicuous flaws were found in the 2008 draft of the Lokpal Bill. The basic idea of a lokpal is borrowed from the Office of the Ombudsman, which has the Administrative Reforms Committee of a Lokpal at the centre, and Lokayukta in the states.
Anna Hazare Kisan Baburao "Anna" Hazare (; born 15 June 1937) is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish corruption in public life. In addition to organising an ...
started agitation in Delhi to get this bill passed, and it did pass on 27 December 2011, around 9:30, with some modifications. These were proposed as the
Jan Lokpal Bill The Jan Lokpal Bill, also referred to as the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill, was a bill drawn up by civil society activists in India seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body to investigate corruption cases and complete the investi ...
. However, Hazare and his team, as well as other political parties, claimed that the Lokpal Bill passed was weak, and would not serve its intended purpose. So the proposed bill by the ruling Congress Party has yet to be accepted in the Rajya Sabha. As of 29 December 2011, the bill has been deferred to the next parliamentary session, amid much controversy and disruption by the LJP,
RJD The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: ''National People's Party'') is an Indian political party, based in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Kerala. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav. The party's support base has tradit ...
and SP parties. The media at large, and the opposition parties, claimed the situation had been staged. The apex Institution primarily created to inquire and investigate complaints relating to allegation of corruption involving public functionaries and elected representatives, finally was formed in March 2019 with the appointment of its Chairperson and members.


Qualification

As of March 2019, and ever since the related Act of Parliament was passed in India. Retired
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
judge Pinaki Chandra Ghose is appointed as the first Lokpal of India by a committee consisting of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
and
Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation w ...
Ranjan Gogoi Ranjan is a name. 'Ran' means Battle and 'jan' means public, in olden days this name was given to generous kings who fight battles for the rights of people. Ranjan may also refer to: *Ranjan (actor) (1918–1983) (real name Ramanarayana Venkataram ...
and
Speaker of the Lok Sabha The speaker of the Lok Sabha ( IAST: ) is the presiding officer and the highest official of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The speaker is elected generally in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general e ...
Sumitra Mahajan on 23 March 2019 whereas the members are appointed w.e.f 27 March 2019. According to ''The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013'', the organisation consists of one Chairperson and a maximum of eight other members. * Out of those eight members four members are judicial members who are or have been a Judge of the Supreme Court or a Chief Justice of a High Court * Remaining four members being non-judicial members are people of impeccable integrity and outstanding ability having special knowledge and expertise of not less than twenty-five years in the matters relating to anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance including insurance and banking, law and management. * Minimum fifty per cent of the Members will be from
Scheduled Castes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
/
Scheduled Tribe The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
/
Other Backward Classes The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with General castes, S ...
/ Minorities and women.


Current Composition


Jan Lokpal Bill movement

Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's Ombudsman Bill) is a draft anti-corruption bill drawn up by prominent
civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Santosh Hegde Nitte Santosh Hegde (born 16 June 1940) is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, former Solicitor General of India and was Lokayukta ( ombudsman) for Karnataka State of India from 2006 to 2011. Early life Santosh Hegde was born in a T ...
(a former Supreme Court Judge and former Lokayukta of Karnataka),
Prashant Bhushan Prashant or Prasant is a common male name in South Asia. It is derived from the word "shanth" which means patience, calm, quiet, or tranquil. People with the given name * Prashant Bose - Indian politician * Prashant Bhushan - Indian lawyer, ...
(a Supreme Court Lawyer) and
Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (Hindi: ɾʋin̪d̪ ked͡ʒɾiːʋaːl born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, former bureaucrat, and activist who is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. Currently, he is the national conv ...
(a RTI activist), the draft Bill envisaged a system in which a corrupt person found guilty would go to jail within two years of the complaint being made and his ill-gotten wealth confiscated. It also sought power for the Jan Lokpal to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without requiring government permission. Retired
IPS IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus, ...
officer
Kiran Bedi Kiran Bedi (born 9 June 1949) is an Indian social activist, former-tennis player who became the first woman in India to join the officer ranks of the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972 and was the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry from ...
and others, like Anna Hazare, Swami Agnivesh, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and Mallika Sarabhai are also members of the movement, called India Against Corruption. Its website describes the movement as "an expression of collective anger of people of India against corruption." It goes on to state: "We have all come together to force/request/persuade/pressurize the Government to enact the Jan Lokpal Bill. We feel that if this Bill were enacted it would create an effective deterrence against corruption." Anna Hazare, an anti-corruption crusader, began a fast-unto-death, demanding that this bill, drafted by
Civil Society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013

The historic
Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 was passed by Indian Parliament paving the way for establishment of a Lokpal (Ombudsman) to fight corruption in public offices and ensure accountability on the part of public officials, including the Prime Minister, but with some safeguards. Lokpal will consist of a chairperson and a maximum of eight members, of which 50% will be judicial members 50% members of Lokpal shall be from SC/ST/OBCs, minorities and women. Selection of chairperson and members of Lokpal through a selection committee consisting of PM, Speaker of Lok Sabha, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Chief Justice of India or a sitting Supreme Court judge nominated by CJI. Eminent jurist to be nominated by President of India on basis of recommendations of the first four members of the selection committee "through consensus". Lokpal's jurisdiction will cover all categories of public servants. All entities (NGOs) receiving donations from foreign source in the context of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) in excess of Rs 10 lakh per year are under the jurisdiction of Lokpal. Centre will send Lokpal bill to states as a model bill. States have to set up Lokayuktas through a state law within 365 days. * Lokpal will have power of superintendence and direction over any central investigation agency including CBI for cases referred to them by the ombudsman. * A high-powered committee chaired by the PM will recommend selection of CBI director. The collegium will comprise PM, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha and Chief Justice of India PM has been brought under purview of the Lokpal, so also central ministers and senior officials. * Directorate of prosecution will be under overall control of CBI director. At present, it comes under the law ministry. * Appointment of director of prosecution to be based on recommendation of the Central Vigilance Commission. * Director of prosecution will also have a fixed tenure of two years like CBI chief. * Transfer of CBI officers investigating cases referred by Lokpal with the approval of watchdog. * Bill incorporates provisions for attachment and confiscation of property acquired by corrupt means, even while prosecution is pending. * Bill lays down clear timelines for preliminary enquiry and investigation and trial. Provides for special courts Public servants will not present their view before preliminary enquiry if the case requires 'element of surprise' like raids and searches. * Bill grants powers to Lokpal to sanction prosecution against public servants. * CBI may appoint a panel of advocates with approval of Lokpal, CBI will not have to depend on govt advocates. On 15 May 2018, Mukul Rohtagi (Former Attorney General of India) has been appointed as an eminent jurist in the selection panel of Lokpal.


List of Chairpersons of the Lokpal Committee


See also

*
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, commonly known as The Lokpal Act, is an anti-corruption Act of Indian Parliament in India which "seeks to provide for the establishment of the institution of Lokpal to inquire into allegations of corrup ...
*
Lokayukta The Lokayukta (also Lok Ayukta) ( ''lokāyukta'', ''"civil commissioner"'') is the Indian Parliamentary Ombudsman, executed into power, through and for, each of the State Governments of India. It is brought into effect in a state, after passi ...
*
Citizen's Charter and Grievance Redressal Bill, 2011 The Citizen's Charter and Grievance Redressal Bill 2011 also known as The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011 or Citizens Charter Bill was proposed by Indian central legi ...
*
Jan Lokpal Bill The Jan Lokpal Bill, also referred to as the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill, was a bill drawn up by civil society activists in India seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body to investigate corruption cases and complete the investi ...
*
2011 Indian anti-corruption movement The Indian anti-corruption movement, popularly known as Anna Andolan, was a series of demonstrations and protests across India that began in 2011 and was intended to establish strong legislation and enforcement against perceived endemic politi ...


References


Further reading

* http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/mukul-rohatgi-appointed-eminent-jurist-in-selection-panel-for-lokpal/article23891565.ece * http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200804051550.htm
India Together – the Lokpal cycle

Times of India article

Anna to move SC against possible police crackdown

Lokpal bill infographics

Suggested amendments to the Bill

Consensus views on Lokpal




{{Lokayukta Anti-corruption measures in India Anti-corruption agencies Ombudsman posts