(IGP) GS Paper 1 – Indian Polity & Governance – “Lokpal & Lok Ayukta”

Subject – Indian Polity & Governance
Chapter : Lokpal & Lok Ayukta

Ombudsman

• The office of the ombudsman originated-in Sweden in 1809 and has been
  adopted by many nations.

• The Swedish word Ombudsman means “a procurator or agent of civil
  affairs”, may be interpreted as “the people’s advocate”.

• Ombudsman is a government official who investigates citizens’ complaints
  against the high government functionaries.

• Though appointed by the legislature he is an independent functionary –
  independent of all the three organs of the state, but reports to the
  legislature

• The Ombudsman can act both on the basis of complaints made by citizens,
  or suo moto- that is on his own initiative. He can look into allegations of
  corruption as well as maladministration.

Lokpal

• Lokpal is synonymous to the institution of Ombudsman existing in the
  Scandinavian countries.

• The Administrative reforms Commission (ARC) set up in 1966 recommended
  the constitution of a two-tier machinery of a Lokpal at the Centre, and
  Lokayuktas in the states as it will remove the sense of injustice from the
  minds of citizens and also install public confidence in the efficiency of
  administrative machinery.

• The Lokpal was visualized as the watchdog institution on ministerial
  probity.

• Broadly the provisions of different bills empowered the Lokpal to
  investigate corruption cases against Government political functionaries at
  the highest level in the Central government

Essential features of the Lokpal Bill 2001 are:

• Objective is to provide speedy, cheaper form of justice to people.

• Members: Lokpal is to be a three member body with a chairperson who is or had
  been a chief justice or judge of the Supreme Court; and its two other members
  who are judges or chief justices of high courts.

• Appointment The chairperson and members shall be appointed by the President on
  the recommendation of a committee consisting of the following persons. (a) The
  Vice-President (Chairman) (b) The PM (c) The Speaker of LS (d) Home Minister (e)
  Leader of the House, other than the house in which PM is a member (f) Leaders of
  Opposition of both the houses.

• Lokpal will have its own administrative machinery for conducting investigations.

• Jurisdiction of Lokpal: The central level political functionaries like the
  Council of Ministers including the Prime Minister, the Members of Parliament
  etc.

• The Lokpal shall complete the inquiry within a period of six months.

• The Lokpal has the power of a civil court to summon any person or authority.

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Why Lokpal Bill has not been passed in the last more than 4 decades:

Reasons for the delay in enactment of the Bill centre around lack of
consensus on the following:

• Whether the office of the Prime Minister be brought under the purview of
  Lokpal

• Whether the Lokpal should have its own investigation machinery, or it
  should depend on the existing ones

• Whether proceedings should be held in camera or otherwise

• Whether the recommendations should be binding or not

NCRWC

• The National Commission to Review the Working of Constitution
  (NCRWC)2000-2002- in its report submitted in 2002 stressed the need to enact
  legislation on Lokpal.

• It recommended that the Constitution be amended to incorporate a
  provision making it obligatory on the state governments to set up the
  institution of Lokayukta.

Second ARC and Rashtriya Lokayukta

• The second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) set up in 2005
  recommended that the Lokpal be given a constitutional status and renamed
  the “Rashtriya Lokayukta.”

• In its fourth report on “Ethics in Governance,” (2007) the
  Commission recommended steps to bring about greater transparency and
  accountability in governance at all levels and root out corruption

Lokayukta

• The first Lokayukta institution was established in the State of
  Orissa in the year 1970 ‘There after, this institution was established
  in different States in different years namely: Maharashtra (1972), Bihar
  (1974), Uttar Pradesh (1977), Madhya Pradesh (1981), Andhra Pradesh
  (1983), Himachal Pradesh (1983), Karnataka (l984) etc.

• Lokayukta laws are in force in seventeen States today.

• However the power, function and jurisdiction of Lokayuktas are the
  not uniform in the country. In some states it has been applicable to all
  the elected representatives including the CM.

•  in some other states legislators have been kept out of his
  purview.

• In some states, Lokayuktas have not been provided with their
  independent investigative machinery making them dependent on the
  government agencies infrastructure is inadequate and so is staff.

The issues with reference to Lokayukta are:

• Time bound installation of Lokayukta institution

• Providing it with adequate infrastructure

• Providing it with an independent investigative agency

• Giving it scope that includes the highest government
  functionaries – political and administrative

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Notes:

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