Triumphant Institute of Management Education P Ltd Nyayapati Gautam Lok Pal - Basics

Lokpal Deficiencies of the current system CVC –CVC is the apex body for all vigilance cases in Government of India. –Inadequate resources –CVC is merely an advisory body. –CVC cannot direct CBI to initiate enquiries against any officer of the level of Joint Secretary and above on its own. –CVC does not have powers to register criminal case. –It does not have powers over politicians –Appointments to CVC are directly under the control of ruling political par

Lokpal CBI: –CBI has powers of a police station to investigate and register FIR. –CBI is overburdened and does not accept cases even where amount of defalcation is alleged to be around Rs 1 crore. –CBI is directly under the administrative control of Central Government.

Jan Lokpal An institution called LOKPAL at the centre and LOKAYUKTA in each state will be set up Like Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations. Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore: Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.

Jan Lokpal The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction. How will it help a common citizen? – If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant. You could also report any case of corruption to Lokpal like ration being siphoned off, poor quality roads been constructed or panchayat funds being siphoned off.

Jan Lokpal Lokpal will have to complete its investigations in a year, trial will be over in next one year and the guilty will go to jail within two years. But won’t the government appoint corrupt and weak people as Lokpal members? –That won’t be possible because its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities through a completely transparent and participatory process. What if some officer in Lokpal becomes corrupt? –The entire functioning of Lokpal will be completely transparent. Any complaint against an officer shall be investigated and the guilty officer dismissed within two months.

Jan Lokpal What will happen to existing anti-corruption agencies? –CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician. It will be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to those who are being victimized for raising their voice against corruption.

The Lokpal Bill The 74-page Lokpal Bill has two parts: first part is a constitutional amendment bill - needs 2/3 majority - so government will need support of opposition parties. The 116th amendment seeks to give constitutional status to Lokpal - a new nine- member ombudsman agency that will receive complaints from the public about corrupt government servants and act on them. Part B seeks to create the institution of Lokpal and Lokayuktas, who will serve as anti- corruption agencies in states. A simple majority is required to pass this part of the bill

The Lokpal Bill Even before the bill is tabled, the government has decided on an amendment - to bring back the minority quota for the nine members of the Lokpal. This means that the 50% reservation will extend to Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SCs/STs), women, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and minorities. The constitution does not allow for reservation on the basis of religion. So to get the amendment approved, a two-third majority is needed. The BJP is unlikely to support the amendment. Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav insist on it.

The Lokpal Bill The Lokpal will be accountable to the Parliament The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will not be controlled administratively by Lokpal. Government will continue to decide its budget, transfers and postings of officials Lokpal cannot initiate proceedings against an officer on its own; a complaint has to be lodged with the ombudsman before it orders an inquiry. The Director of CBI to be chosen by panel of PM, Leader of Opposition and Chief Justice of India.

The Lokpal Bill No sanction is required for prosecution of public servants. No separation of prosecution and investigative wings of CBI, as was earlier suggested by some parties. CBI will report to Lokpal on cases referred to it by the ombudsman. Lokpal has the right to conduct preliminary inquiry through an inquiry wing, made up of police officers. Lokpal can refer cases to other agencies like the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)