By Satya Prakash
More than six decades after the idea of an anti-corruption ombudsman was conceived, India has finally got its first Lokpal. Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose — a retired judge of the Supreme Court — was on Saturday administered the oath of office by President Ram Nath Kovind.
With his team of judicial and non-judicial members (four each), the Lokpal led by Justice Ghose is expected to deal with complaints of corruption against public functionaries in high places, including the Prime Minister.
It will take a few months before the Lokpal becomes functional as it needs time to set up mechanisms to deal with corruption, including its Inquiry Wing and Prosecution Wing.
But there are many flaws in the law. First, it goes against the theory of separation of powers enunciated by 18th century French philosopher Montesquieu as it has Chief Justice of India on the selection committee. Vesting State’s powers into the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary works as a tool to check possible despotic tendencies in each one of the three organs.
What if the appointment is challenged? It creates a conflict-of-interest situation for the CJI who also happens to be the Master of Roster.
The law was enacted in the backdrop of an anti-corruption agitation led by Anna Hazare. The then UPA government co-opted the judiciary in the selection panel perhaps to give credence to the whole exercise as it had lost its credibility to a great extent in view of allegations of corruption in 2G and coal scams.
Second, the Act provides for 50% reservation for persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Minorities and women both in the Lokpal and its Search Committee.
What have caste, religion or gender got to do with fight against corruption? Lokpal is not a government job where reservation can be given to meet the State’s obligation of social justice. It’s an institution meant to fight corruption where one’s experience and ability to deal with the menace should have been the sole criterion. Quota in Lokpal is wholly misconceived as it doesn’t have any nexus with the objective sought to be achieved by the Act.
Third, the process of appointment should be made transparent as required under the Act. Section 4(4) of the Act says: “The Selection Committee shall regulate its own procedure in a transparent manner for selecting the Chairperson and Members of the Lokpal.” It would be expected that further appointments are made in a transparent manner.
Fourth, the Lokpal appears to be overburdened. It has jurisdiction over Prime Minister, ministers, Members of Parliament, Groups A, B, C and D officers and officials of Central Government. With such a huge number of public servants under its jurisdiction, it’s likely to get clogged with complaints.
But there are some good provisions as well. For example, the Act provides for separate Inquiry Wing and Prosecution Wing of the Lokpal. It also provides for time-bound inquiry into complaints. But it will have to rely on the CBI or any other agency for investigation.
Another good thing is about sanction for prosecution, which has been troubling the investigating agencies in all high-profile cases. The Act says notwithstanding anything contained in other laws, the Lokpal shall have power to grant sanction for prosecution. This will expedite things.
In cases relating to probe against a sitting or former PM, decisions have to be taken by two-thirds of Full Bench of Lokpal in an in-camera proceeding.
But the fact that even after enactment of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act in 2013 it took more than five years to install it, says a lot about the reluctance of the political class to have an institution that can entertain complaints of corruption against the most powerful office in India.
It provides for safeguards in case of inquiry against the PM by making it mandatory that decisions for probe be taken by Full Bench with two-thirds majority.
Democracy functions through institutions which work together to provide a mechanism for checks and balances against each other, strengthening rule of law. The Lokpal has a long way to go before it becomes an institution worthy of being touted as yet another pillar of Indian democracy.
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/2U3G0Rj
via Today’s News Headlines
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