Lokpal

A lokpal is an anti-corruption authority or an ombudsman who represents public interest. What differentiates lokpal from other agencies is that all the government bureaucrats and politicians including the Prime Minister comes under his ambit. While Lokpal is at central level, it is called Lokyukta at state level. The Lokpal and Lokyukta Act commonly called as Lokpal Act came into act after the President ratified the bill in April 2014. Under the act, a search committe is to be formed by the government comprising members from diverse fields and also with ample representation from SC and ST caste. They should collectively appoint a chairperson and members of Lokpal. But since then, the appointment has been deferred for multiple reasons. But most of the reasons look flimsy and the government should have atleast hastened the process after a supreme court intervention in 2017, asking the govt to expedite the process. In the due course of time, an ammendment has also been made removing the family of the public servants from under the purview. Finally this week, SC has asked the government to finalize the names by Feb 28.

What next?

It is likely that the lokpal will be finalized by the end of February but the biggest doubt is whether it will be effective or not. To start with, the lokayuttas is not a new concept. It has already been implemented in many states in India, with Maharashtra being the pioneers. But it is noteworthy that none of the lokyuktas had been effective in any of the states. The biggest probem is that there were lot of frivolous complaints which were difficult to be filtered out. It is still not been addressed and the Lokpal might also face the same problem.One more problem is regarding the lack of police and investigative force under the Lokpal. At present, it will only be able to depend on the CBI, which is already burdened with many cases, for its investigative actions.