Finally, Lokpal gets a building, outside Lutyen's Delhi

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

special report

Finally, Lokpal gets a building, outside Lutyen's Delhi

Harish Gupta 

New Delhi, Oct. 21 

Finally, the Lokpal has a got its own building to function. More than seven months after the 9-member anti-corruption watchdog came into being, it was functioning from the sprawling 5-star Hotel Ashok. It’s a different matter that the Lokpal was not paying any rent to the ITDC owned Hotel Ashok and bearing the loss. 

The Lokpal continues to struggle with the government for the rules to be framed for the past seven months. The department of personnel and training (DoPT) has not framed the rules so that Lokpal is able to function and look into the complaints of corruption against the Hugh and mighty people.

But the Lokpal is now to move out of Delhi's five star hotel 'The Ashok' to Vasant Kunj in the building of the International Center for alternative Dispute Resolution. The building was identified by the PMO in the city for a great building hunt. The International Center’s building is a sprawling area outside the Lutyen’s zone in Vasant Kunj. Now the Lokpal will acquire it. It is at Vasant Kunj Institutional Area, Phase-II, Mahipalpur. The government had said recently that it is in the process of searching a permanent office for Lokpal in response to an RTI query. But it did not go further as to when it will identify and where. 

It said no payment has so far been made towards rental charges for the Lokpal office at 'The Ashok' hotel.  the government has taken over the building of Arbitration building in vasant kunj.

Meanwhile, the government appointed Senior IAS officer Dilip Kumar as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the office of Lokpal. It is perhaps the first official appointment of a bureaucrat in Lokpal. Kumar, a 1995-batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre, was working as the joint secretary of the NHRC when his appointment was announced.

The Centre is yet to notify a form for filing complaints with Lokpal.

Lokpal sitting pretty as Govt. yet to frame rules

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Exclusive report 

Lokpal sitting pretty as Govt. yet to frame rules

Ombudsman was created six months ago, function from Hotel Ashok 

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Oct 15

Even six months after the 9-member Lokpal institution came into being in March, the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) has not framed rules and procedures to govern country's anti-corruption watchdog.

It transpires that the Chairman of the Lokpal Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, has been communicating with the DoPT for the past several months to expedite framing of rules. He is impressing upon the government to frame rules so that the body could start functioning effectively. The DoPT has to prepare a format under which complaints can be filed against the corrupt government servants including ministers by complainants. The government wants that the complainant has to to lodge a complaint against the persons occupying high office in a proper format rather than on a plain sheet of paper. But there is no format as yet.

The Lokpal was created in a historic decision by the Modi government to probe into the corruption charges against the Ministers including the Prime Minister.

Insiders say that in the absence of rules and procedures, the Lokpal is unable to handle complaints. It is also not clear whether the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) which is dealing with the corruption by the government servants minus political leaders will be brought under the ambit of the Lokpal or not.

At present, the office of Lokpal works from 'The Ashok' hotel in Chanakyapuri and search is on for an alternative building.

Justice Ghose is the Chairman while eight other members include four former chief justices of different high courts, justices Dilip B Bhosale, Pradip Kumar Mohanty, Abhilasha Kumari and Ajay Kumar Tripathi and four ex-government servants. They include former IPS officer Archana Ramasundaram, ex-Maharashtra chief secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, former IRS officer Mahender Singh and Gujarat cadre ex-IAS officer Indrajeet Prasad Gautam.

So far, the Lokpal has received over 600 complaints and it has disposed most of them. But it is handicapped in the absence of rules & procedures how to proceed. Various complaints are reported to be pending, say sources.

When contacted, a senior officer in the DoPT said, “it is engaging our attention on a priority basis. There are procedural issues and being sorted out.”

ends

Country gets first Lokpal after 50 years

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Lokpal story with exclusive details.

Country gets first Lokpal after 50 years

Justice PC Ghose to be First Lokpal,

Justice Abhilasha Kumari, Archana Ramasundaram, others recommended Maharashtra Chief Secretary also under consideration Justice Bobde part of Selection Committee

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, March 17

Pinaki Chandra Ghose, a former judge of the Supreme Court, will be country's first Lokpal who will hold the post of Chairman.

Apart from justice Ghose, the Selection Committee headed by the Prime Minister, also cleared the names of justice Abhilasha Kumari, a former chief justice of the Manipur high court, Archana Ramasundaram, a former Director-General of Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB) and a few others.

Highly placed sources say that the selection committee also considered the name of Dinesh Kumar Jain, Chief Secretary of the Maharashtra government who is currently on extension. It is not immediately known if his name was cleared for the post of Lokpal.

Under the Lokpal Act, the anti-corruption ombudsman will consist of a chairperson and eight members, of which 50% will be judicial members, 50% members of Lokpal shall be from SC/ST/OBCs, minorities and women.

Justice Ghose had convicted J Jayalalithaa's aide Sasikala in a corruption case. Interestingly, Justice Abhilasha Kumari is a daughter of former Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. She had served as a judge of the Gujrat high court when Modi was Chief Minister. It was in 2018 when she was made Chief Justice of the Manipur high court and retired after serving for a month only. 

Archana Ramasundaram is the first ever woman chief of any central armed police force and had retired from service in 2017.

A senior bureaucrat from Haryana who was once considered close to Chautalas also figured in the list of those probables.

With the creation of Lokpal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi fulfilled his commitment to give country its first Lokpal which is empowered to inquire into corruption in high places including the office of the PM.

Interestingly, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi did not attend Friday's meeting that continued late in the night. Instead, he sent Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, a judge of the Supreme Court. Justice Bobde will is the next CJI in line after Justice Gogoi. Justice Bobde is also serving as the Chancellor of Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai and Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur.

Besides, PM and Justice Bobde, Speaker of the Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan, Mallikarjun Kharge and eminent jurist Mukul Rohtagi are the members. Kharge didn't attend the meeting. The Selection Committee strictly went by the panel of 20 names recommended by the Search Committee. Justice A K Sikri who is a retired judge of the Supreme Court was disinterested in the post, say sources.

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.

Lokpal will have power of superintendence and direction over any central investigation agency including CBI for cases referred to them by the ombudsman.

Ends 

Special Report : PM-Led Lokpal Panel meets on Sep. 4

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Special Report

PM-Led Lokpal Panel meets on Sep. 4

Kharge refuses again,

8-Member Search Committee tio be formed

New Delhi, Sep. 1

The Lokpal panel comprising of Prime Minister Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and eminent jurist Mukul Rohtagi will meet on Tuesday next, September 4.

This will be the fifth meet of the Lokpal panel to set up Search Committee which in turn will select country's first Lokpal. The Search Committee will comprise of eight eminent jurists, former judges and others.

The Prime Minister is keen to fast-track the selection process of Lokpal and wants the institution to come into being during 2018 itself. It was largely because of this very reason that the 5^th meeting of the Lokpal panel is taking place within a fortnight of the 4^th meeting on August 22.

It was decided that all four Lokpal panel members including the PM will furnish five names each. Kharge who has been skipping the meeting, was requested to send the names of five persons for the search committee. But he declined saying that he will be not be part of the process until made a full member. Therefore, it is possible that the Lokpal panel will have 20 names to be considered for the search committee when it meets on on September 4 setting the stage for selecting the Lokpal.

Its a different matter that the selection of country's first Lokpal is turning out to be an Herculean task for the Modi government. Since he is keen that Lokpal is functional at the earliest as it was one of his poll promises. The Supreme Court is also monitoring the process of Lokpal selection and even rapped the government on previous occasions.

However, the process of selecting Lokpal is cumbersome as the 8-member Search Committee will invite applications for the post of 9 Lokpals through advertisement in newspapers. The Lokpal will be a 9-member body.

It may be mentioned that the same task was undertaken by the Manmohan Singh government after the Lokpal & Lokayukta Act was passed in 2013. A search committee comprising of 8 members headed by Justice K T Thomas was constituted in February 2014 which invited applications for Lokpal. There were 300 applicants for 9 posts of Lokpal. But suddenly Justice Thomas decided to quit and the process came to a grinding halt. It will be a miracle if the Modi government can complete the task during the remaining period of its term.

PM, others asked to give 5 names each for Lokpal Panel

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Special report

PM, others asked to give 5 names each for Lokpal Panel

Selecting Lokpal a Herculean task 

New Delhi, July 24

The selection of country's first Lokpal is turning out to be most complicated and Herculean task for the Modi government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is learning the ropes even four years after assuming office and it is highly unlikely that Lokpal will be place before the next General Elections.

This became clear when the first meeting of the Lokpal Selection Committee comprising of the PM, Chief Justice of India Dipak Mishra, Speaker of the Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan and eminent jurist Mukul Rohtagi was held to form the search committee on July 19. Since Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Congress Party in Lok Sabha refused to attend the meeting for being invited as “Special invitee” and not as full member, the Selection Committee decided to proceed.

It was decided by the members including the PM that all of them furnish the names of five experts each at the next meeting of the committee. Even Kharge will be requested to furnish five names of experts and out of this mega list of 25 experts, the Lokpal Search Committee will be constituted. The Search Committee will comprise of eight members who will be selected out of these 25.

Interestingly, the four members who attended the first meeting of the Lokpal Selection Committee under the Modi era were finding it difficult to draw the names of five persons capable of being members of the Search Committee. Two members felt they needed time to come out with the names while the PM looked on. Mukul Rohtagi reported to have suggested that experts from all corners should be picked up and then a short-list of eight can be drawn. The government will make a special request to Kharge to send the names even if he is not willing to attend the meeting.

It was not clear when the government will hold the next meeting of the Lokpal Selection Committee. It was largely because of this very reason that the Supreme Court rapped the government in the court today.

But the process is so cumbersome that it is unlikely to be completed anytime soon because the 8-member search committee will invite applications from all over the country through a proper advertisement in newspapers for the posts of 9-member Lokpal body.

It may be mentioned that the same task was undertaken by the Manmohan Singh government after the Lokpal & Lokayukta Act was passed in 2013. A search committee comprising of 8 members headed by Justice K T Thomas was constituted in February 2014 which invited applications for Lokpal. 300 persons applied. But suddenly Justice Thomas quit and process came to a grinding halt. It will be a miracle if the Modi government can complete the task during the remaining period of its term.