No Lokpal report in 2 yrs, annual submission to President must
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 4
Though two years have passed since the Lokpal chairperson and its members were selected, the anti-corruption body is yet to submit any report to the President and Parliament.
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act was passed by Parliament in December 2013, received assent from the President on January 1, 2014, and came into force on January 16, 2014.
Mandatory exercise
- Lokpal is to present an annual work report to the President
- It is then to be laid in both Houses of Parliament
- No report has been submitted since Lokpal was appointed in 2019
The initial delays in the functioning of the ombudsman arose from the fact that the selection process was halted due to the absence of a Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The Act was subsequently amended in 2016 to make place for the leader of the single largest party in the Lok Sabha as a member in the Lokpal selection committee.
The government in its recent Budget session of Parliament informed the House that Section 48 of the Lokpal Act required the Lokpal to present annually to the President a report on the work done by it, which is then to be laid in both the Houses of Parliament. “No such report has been laid,” Minister of State, Personnel, admitted.
After the recommendations of the Selection Committee under Section 4(1) of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, the President had appointed the chairperson and eight members (including four judicial members) of the Lokpal by warrant under his hand and seal on March 19, 2019.
Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose had been appointed chairperson and Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale, Justice Pradip Kumar Mohanty, Justice Abhilasha Kumari and Justice Ajay Kumar Tripathi as members, judicial. The other members were Dinesh Kumar Jain, Archana Ramasundaram, Mahender Singh and Indrajeet Prasad Gautam.
