English Summary Lokpalbill

8/3/2019 English Summary Lokpalbill

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WhatareLokpalandLokayukta?

WhyareLokpalandLokayuktaneeded?

HowwillLokpalandLokayuktabedifferentfromtheprevalentsystemof

fightingcorruption?

Weproposethatthereshouldbeestablisheda‘Lokpal’atthecentralleveland‘Lakayukta’atthe

statelevel,bothofwhichwilladdresstheinadequaciesofthecurrentanti-corruptionsystemsand

havethepowerandindependencetoinvestigateandprosecutecasesofcorruption.

Tobeestablishedthroughtheenactmentofcentralandstate-levellaws,LokpalandLokayuktawill

workonbehalfofthecitizensofIndiatoprotecttheirinterestsfromabuseofpublicofficeatthe

levelofthecentralandstategovernments,respectively.

These‘people’scommissions’willbeindependentofthegovernmentinamannerthatpoliticians

andbureaucratsarenotabletointerfereintheirfunctioning.Theywillbeaccountabletothe

citizensthroughtransparencyintheirselectionandfunctioning.LokpalandLokayuktawillalsobe

madeaccountabletothecitizensbygivingthelattertherighttofilecomplaintsagainsttheformer

attheSupremeCourtandtheHighCourt,respectively.

LokpalandLokayuktawillprotectcitizenswhoshowthecouragetobringtothenoticeofthe

authoritiesanyinstanceofabuseofpublicoffice.Thepeople’scommissionswillalsodealwith

certainkindsofgrievancesreportedbythecitizensinrespectofanyserviceorofficeofthecentral

andstategovernmentsandprovidethemredress.

TheestablishmentofLokpalandLokayuktawilldoawaywithmultiplicityofanti-corruption

agencies;eachofthesepeople’scommissionswillhave10membersandonechairperson.



CURRENTSYSTEM PROPOSEDLOKPAL-LOKAYUKTASYSTEM

F U N C T I O N I N G O F L O K P A L

Ordinarycitizenscomplainingagainst

corruptionhavelittletrustinthe

prevailinganti-corruptionsystemsbecausetheybelievetheywillnotbe

listenedtoornothingwillcomeoutof

theregistrationoftheircomplaints.

Intheprevailingsystems,thereisno

timelimitwithinwhichacomplaint

againstcorruptionistobeinvestigated.

Often,theanti-corruptionagenciesjust

closeacasewithoutinformingthe

complainant.Theinvestigationinto

corruptionmayalsoturncorrupt,such

aswhentheanti-corruptionagenciesacceptbribestocloseacase.

AnyordinarycitizencanapproachLokpaland

Lokayuktawithanycomplaintofcorruption.

LokpalorLokayuktawillhavetocompleteitsenquiriesorinvestigationswithinoneyear.After

investigation,ifthereisevidenceofcorruption

foundagainstapoliticianoranyofficial,Lokpalor

Lokayuktawillhavetofileacaseinappropriate

trialcourt.Thetrialcourtwillhavetocomplete

thetrialandannouncepunishmentwithinayear.

LokpalandLokayuktawillhavethepowerstogeta

guiltyofficialdismissedorsuspended.Theywill

alsohavethepowerstogetanincrementofa

guiltyofficialwithheldorgetaguiltyofficial

reducedinrank.TheLokpalorLokayuktawillmakeanannual

estimateofthenumberofspecialcourtsrequired

toensurethatthetrialineachcaseiscompleted

withinayear.Thegovernmentwillhavetosetup

suchnumberofcourtswithinthreemonthsofthe

LokpalandLokayuktamakingtherequest.

Everycomplaintshallhavetobecompulsorily

disposedbyLokpalorLokayukta.Nocomplaint

couldbedisposedofwithoutgivingahearingto

thecomplainant.Ifanycaseisclosed,allrecords

relatedtheretoshallbemadepublic.

J U D G E S – S C & H C

NoFIRcanberegisteredagainstany

SupremeCourtorHighCourtjudge

withoutthepermissionofChiefJustice

ofIndia.Ithasbeenseeninthepast

thattheChiefJusticeofIndiatriesto

protecthisownbrotherjudgesand

rarelygivessuchapermission.

UnderJanLokpalBill,thefullbenchofLokpalwill

givepermissiontofileacaseagainstanyjudge.No

permissionwillberequiredfromChiefJusticeof

India.

P R O P E R T Y A T T A C H M E N T

Inthecurrentanti-corruptionsystems,

thereisnoprovisionforattachingthe

propertiesofthepersonsbeing

investigated.

LokpalorLokayuktawillhavethepowerstonotify

thelistofmoveableandimmoveableassetsofthe

accusedtobeattachedif,duringinvestigations,

thepeople’scommissionscometobelievethatprosecutionislikelytobeinitiated.Theseassets

cannotbetransferredaftersuchnotification.Loss

toexchequerquantifiedatthetimeofconviction

couldberecoveredfromthesaleoftheseassets.



R E C O V

E R Y O F L O S S E S

Currently,thereisnoprovisioninour

lawtorecoverthepublicfundsthat

havebeenmisappropriatedormakeup

forthelosstotheexchequeron

accountofcorruptpractices.

Atthetimeofconviction,thecourtwillmakean

assessmentofthelosscausedbytheaccused,

whichshallberecoveredfromthem.

Ifthebeneficiaryofthecorruptpracticesisa

businessentity,fivetimesthelosscausedtothe

governmentwillberecovered.Therecoverymaybedonefromtheassetsofthatbusinessentityor

thepersonalassetsofitsdirectors.

P U N I S H M E N T Thequantumofpunishmentforpeople

convictedofcorruptpracticesrange

fromsixmonthstosevenyearsof

imprisonment,whichisinadequate.

Thepunishmentwillrangefromoneyeartolife

imprisonmentandwillbecommensuratewiththe

statusorrankoftheaccused.Thequantumof

punishmentwillbehigherforaconvictwhohada

higherrankthanforaconvictwiththelowerrank.

M I N I S T E R S

Inthecurrentsystem,ministers

continueintheirpositionsdespite

substantialevidenceagainstthem.

Iftheallegationsagainstaministerare

substantiatedthroughanenquiryorinvestigation,

theLokpalorLokayuktawillbeableto

recommendremovalofthatminister(otherthanthePrimeMinister).

E V I D E N C E

Inthecurrentsystem,itisdifficultto

gatherevidenceofillegalobtainmentof

apublicbenefitonpaymentofbribe.

Ifapersonobtainsanybenefitfromthe

governmentinviolationofalaworrulesand

regulations,thatpersonalongwithconcerned

publicservantsshallbedeemedtohaveindulged

incorruptpractices.

W H I S

T L E B L O W E R

P R O T

E C T I O N

Currently,peoplewhoreportcorrupt

practicesorraisetheirvoiceagainst

corruptionarebeingthreatened,

victimizedandevenmurdered.Thereis

noprotectionforthem.

LokpalandLokayuktawillberesponsiblefor

providingthewhistleblowers,insideoroutsidethe

government,withprotectionfromathreator

victimizationofaprofessionalorphysicalkind.

C I T I Z E N ’ S

C H A R T E R

Currently,itiseasyforacorruptpublic

officialtocompelacitizentopaya

bribebysimplyrefusingtodothework

withoutabribe.Thecitizen’schoiceis

limitedtopayingabribetogetthework

doneornotpayingabribeandnot

gettingtheworkdone.

Everydepartmentshallprepareacitizenscharter

listingalltheroutineandeasilydefinableworks

alongwiththeofficialresponsibleforaparticular

workandthetimeframeinwhichtheworkwillbe

done.Eachdepartmentwillalsodesignateitshead

orasufficientlyseniorofficeraspublicgrievance

officer(PGO).Acomplaintofnon-adherenceto

thecitizen’scharterwillbedealtbythePGO,who

willberequiredtogettheworkdonein30days.If

thePGOfailstoprovideredress,thegrievancewill

gotothevigilanceofficer(whowillbeapartof

theLokpal)andthegrievancewillbedeemedto

haveavigilanceofficer.Thevigilanceofficerwill

gettheworkdoneinthenext30days,impose

penaltiesontheerringofficialswhichwillbepaid

ascompensationtothecitizenandproceedwith

enquiriesofmisconductagainsttheerring

officials.



M U

L T I P L I C I T Y O F

A . C . A G E N C I E S

Currently,therearemultipleanti-

corruptionagenciesthatareineffective

ontheirownandtogether.These

multipleagenciesoftenwastetheir

effortonthesamecaseorworkatcross

purposes.Thenetresultisaveryweakcheckoncorruptionandthecorrupt.

Allexistinganti-corruptionagencieswillbe

mergedintoLokpal.Theanti-corruptionwingof

CBI,theCVCandthevigilancewingsofall

departmentswillbemergedintoLokpal.

Otherfeatures

1. Uponnon-compliancewithitsorders,theLokpalorLokayuktawillhavethepowerstoimpose

financialpenaltiesandalsoinitiatecontemptproceedingsagainsttheguiltyofficials.

2. Eachbureaucrat,politicianandjudgewouldberequiredtosubmithis/herstatementof

moveableandimmoveableassetsonanannualbasis,whichwillbeputontheofficialwebsite.If

anassetofsubstantialvalueissubsequentlyfoundtobeownedbyapublicservant,itwouldbe

deemedtohavebeenobtainedthroughcorruptmeans.3. Aftereachelection,theLokpalwillverifytheassetsdeclaredbyeachcandidatefromhis/her

declaredsourcesofincomeinhis/hertaxreturns.Ifundeclaredassetsarefound,theywill

becomethesubjectofinvestigation.

4. AllrecordsofLokpalwillbeopenbarringthefollowing:

a. Suchportionsofanyrecordswhich,ifreleasedduringanyongoinginvestigation,could

impedetheprocessofinvestigation.However,aftercompletionofinvestigation,they

wouldbedisclosed.

b. Suchrecordswhichcouldaffectnationalsecurityor

c. Suchrecordswhichwoulddisclosetheidentityofawhistleblowerandcould

compromisehis/hersecurity.5. Lokpalwillpublisheverymonthonitswebsitethestatusofcasesreceived,disposed,closed,

reasonsforclosureandthelistofcasespending.

6. Sothatthegovernmentmaynotbeinfluencetheirfunctioningortheymaynotgetalignedto

anypoliticalparty,theChairpersonandmemberswillnotbeeligibleforappointmenttoany

positioninthegovernmentorforcontestingelectionsaftertheyleaveoffice.

7. SelectionofmembersandChairpersonofLokpalandLokayukta:

a) ThetenmembersandthechairpersonofLokpalareappointedbya SelectionCommittee

thatcomprisesofthePrimeMinister,LeaderoftheoppositioninLokSabha,twoyoungest

judgesofSupremeCourt(SC),twoyoungestChiefJusticesofHighCourts,ComptrollerandAuditorGeneral(CAG),ChiefElectionCommissioner(CEC)andtheimmediatelyoutgoing

membersofLokpal.

b) TheSelectionCommitteemakestheaboveappointmentfromapoolofshortlisted

candidatesthathasbeenidentifiedbya“ SearchCommittee” .

c) The“SearchCommittee” isa10-membercommitteeformedasfollows.First,the Selection

Committeeselectsfivemembersfromex-CECsandex-CAGswhohaveunimpeachable

integrity,noconnectionwithgovernmentorpoliticalparties.Thesefivemembersthen

selectanotherfivemembersfromthecivilsociety.Thiscompletesthe10-member

SearchCommittee.

d) TheSearchCommitteewillchoosefromthepeopleofIndia,threetimesthenumberofvacanciestobefilledforthepositionofLokpalmemberandchairperson.Suchselectionwill



bebasedonstrictcriteriatofilteroutpeoplewithanydoubtfulintegrityorconnectionswith

anygovernmentbodyorpoliticalparty.Thislististhenforwardedtothe Selection

Committeewhichthenmakestheselectionfromthispool.

e) Aftertheselection,thenamesareforwardedtothePresidentofIndia,whowillthen

immediatelyappointtherecommendedLokpalmembers.

f) TheentireprocessofselectionofLokpalispubliclytransparentviawebsite.Allthemeetings

oftheSearchCommitteeandSelectionCommittee shallbevideorecordedthatwillbemade

public.

8. RemovalofmembersandChairpersonofLokpalandLokayukta:

Lokpalmembersand/orchairpersonmayberemovedonmisconductorcorruptioncharges only

byarulingofabenchoftheSupremeCourt(SC)comprisingofthe5senior-mostjudges.Any

personmaymoveapetitionbeforetheSCseekingsuchremoval.Afterhearingthematter,SC

mayordertheformationofaSpecialInvestigationTeamthatwillconductaninquiryandsubmit

areportwithin3months,and/ororderthewithdrawalofpartialorcompleteworkfromthat

Lokpalmember.

Somepeoplebelievethat:

1. PrimeMinistershouldnotbecoveredunderLokpal.

2. JudiciaryshouldnotbecoveredunderLokpal.

3. People’sGrievancesshouldnotbecoveredunderLokpal,elseLokpalwillgetburdened

4. Lokpalshouldnotbegiventheresponsibilityofprovidingprotectiontowhistleblowers.

5. Lokpalshouldonlyinvestigateafewhighprofilecasesofcorruption.

6. CBI,CVCanddepartmentalvigilanceshouldnotbemergedintoLokpal.LetLokpalbeasmall

bodyandlettheexistinganti-corruptionbodieskeepfunctioninginthemannerthatthey

havebeenfunctioning.

PleaseofferyoursuggestionsandexpressyourviewsonLokpalandLokayuktaon

www.lokpalbillconsultation.org

[email protected]

English Summary Lokpalbill

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