Legal experts brush off AAP’s Jan Lokpal as bluster Saturday, 16 November 2013 | Aditi Gupta | New Delhi 1 पठनीय लेख The tall claims by Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal to passage Jan Lokpal Bill after coming to power is bound to fail. Terming the “promise” as a political gimmick, legal experts slammed the party. They said that passing the Jan Lokpal Bill is not under the purview of the Delhi Assembly and that the party is misleading the electorate to lure them in the name of a movement initiated by Anna Hazare. “He can only make a recommendation to the Centre, but the approval by Parliament is a must for any bill to be passed. It is nothing more than a gimmick. Delhi already has a Lokayukta, what else will he get passed?” said senior advocate KTS Tulsi. Senior Supreme Court advocate Shilpi Jain also said that the Jan Lokpal Bill, promised by the AAP, will be repugnant to the existing law and hence, not permissible. “The powers of the State to make laws are really weak and non-existent in practice, though they remain visible on paper in respect of a few items because they are unable to enact any law repugnant to the Central Law,” said Jain. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) of India AS Chandhiok said in the present set up of the Constitution, supremacy of the legislature lies with the Parliament. “He may be making promises but it is not possible to pass the bill without it being passed in the Parliament,” he said. However, prominent lawyer and key-member of AAP Prashant Bhushan said, “The Jan Lokpal Bill we are talking about is the Delhi Lokayukta Bill. It need not be passed by the Parliament, but we certainly will require the consent of the President.” The stand of Bhushan is contrary to the announcement by party convener Kejriwal as it clearly says “Jan Lokpal”. Moreover, Delhi already has its own Lokayukta. Countering this argument by Bhushan, ASG Chadhiok said, “According to Article 246 and 239 A(a) of the Constitution, the exclusive power of making laws rests with the Parliament. However, a State can only amend the laws in case there is no Central administration,” adding that no law can be passed by the State Assembly alone. “The Lokpal Bill is meant to try, punish and convict persons accused of corruption. As of now, such persons are being tried under the Indian Penal Code and in case of Government servants, under the Prevention of Corruption Act. So, if AAP says it will enact the Jan Lokpal Bill and make it a law after it wins the Assembly Elections, it will be repugnant to the existing law and hence not permissible. Similarly, the Jan Lokpal will also make the CBI an independent investigation agency. Even this would be contrary to and repugnant to the existing law, hence outside the domain of the powers of the State Legislative Assembly,” Jain opined. On the other hand, AAP member Kumar Vishwas took a different stand on the issue. He said, “Yes, no bill can be passed without the Centre’s approval, but we will make sure that we get it passed. We will keep pushing for it till it is passed. The Lokayukta in the Capital is controlled by the Government. Through the new and improved Lokpal Bill we will ensure a corruption-checking body, which is independent of the Government.”
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 16:23:59 +0000
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