Lokpal appointment: SC asks Centre to expedite shortlisting of names

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 17

The process for appointment of India's first Lokpal appears to be getting on track as the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to expedite the process for shortlisting of suitable candidate for the post.

A Bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi told the government to expedite the process for Lokpal's appointment after Attorney General KK Venugopal informed it that the selection panel headed by the Prime Minister will hold a meeting on July 19.

The Bench, however, did not issue any directions in view of the Attorney General's statement.

“Lets begin on an optimistic note. We do not wish to issue a mandamus. We hope that the selection and search committee will expeditiously finalise the names," said a Bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

The top court said the selection panel will have to first appoint a search committee.

As the Bench sought a report by Monday and posted the matter for further hearing on July 24, the AG said the selection committee may not be able to complete the deliberations in one sitting on July 19.

“We cannot rush through," Venugopal told the Bench, which also included Justice R Bhanumathi. Questioning the process adopted by the Centre, petitioner Common Cause has been insisting that the court should use its extra-ordinary power under Article 142 to appoint the Lokpal.

As the appointment of Lokpal gets delayed for various reasons, the Supreme Court had on July 2 asked the Centre to inform it in 10 days the timeframe for steps to be taken for appointment of India’s first anti-corruption ombudsman.

It had asked the Centre to file within 10 days an affidavit indicating the timeframe and steps to be taken for appointing the Lokpal after Attorney General KK Venugopal placed before it written instructions received from the government.

Enacted in 2013, the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act received presidential assent on January 1, 2014 and came into force on January 16, 2014. However, the first Lokpal is yet to be appointed and many stated were also dithering in appointing Lokayuktas.

Accusing the government of dilly-dallying, petitioner Common Cause, an NGO, has approached the top court seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against the government for its failure to appoint the Lokpal despite the courts direction.

Terming the Act as an eminently workable piece of legislation, the top court had in 2017 said there was no justification to keep the enforcement of Lokpal Act suspended till the proposed amendments, including on the issue of the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, were cleared by Parliament.

In its April 27, 2017 verdict, the Supreme Court had termed the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 an eminently workable piece of legislation which "does not create any bar to the enforcement of the provisions".

The Centre had on May 15 told the top court that former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had been appointed as 'eminent jurist' in the Lokpal selection panel tasked with shortlisting names for appointment of Lokpal. Rohatgi replaced senior advocate PP Rao who died in September last year.