Wikipedia Atom feedLast modified on 27 July 2014, at 01:39LokpalThis article is about a legal term. For the Malayalam movie of the same name, seeLokpal (film).ALokpal(Sanskrit:लोकपालlokpāla,caretaker of people) is anombudsman(legal representative) in India. It has jurisdiction over allMembers of Parliamentandcentralgovernmentemployees in cases ofcorruption. It was formed in 2013 after passing ofThe Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013with amendments in parliament, following movement lead byAnna Hazare. It has counterpart in all the states ofIndiacalledLokayuktas.Historylokpala was coined by Dr L.M.Singhvi in 1963. The concept of a constitutional ombudsman was first proposed in parliament by Law MinisterAshoke Kumar Senin the early 1960s. The firstJan LokpalBillwas proposed byShanti Bhushanin 1968 and passed in the 4thLok Sabhain 1969, but did not pass through theRajya Sabha. Subsequently, lokpal bills were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, again by Ashoke Kumar Sen, while serving as Law Minister in theRajiv Gandhicabinet, and again in 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 andin 2008, yet they were never passed.[1]Fifty two years after its first introduction, the Lokpal Bill is finally enacted in India on 18 December 2013.The Lokpal Bill provides for the filing, with the ombudsman, of complaints of corruption against theprime minister, otherministers, andMPs. TheAdministrative Reforms Commission(ARC)recommended the enacting of the Office ofa Lokpal, convinced that such an institution was justified, not only for removing the sense of injustice from the minds of citizens, but also to instill public confidence in the efficiency of the administrative machinery.Following this, the Lokpal Bill was, for the first time, presented during the fourthLok Sabhain 1968, and was passed there in 1969. However, while it was pending in theRajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha was dissolved, and thus the bill was not passed.The bill was revived several times in subsequent years, including in 2011. Each time, after the bill was introduced to the House, it was referred to a committee for improvements, to a joint committee of parliament, or to a departmental standing committee of the Home Ministry. Before the government could take a final stand onthe issue, the house was dissolved again. Several conspicuous flaws were found in the 2008 draft of the Lokpal Bill. The basic idea of a lokpal is borrowed from the Officeof the Ombudsman, which has the Administrative Reforms Committee of a lokpal at the Centre,[clarification needed]and lokayukta(s) in the states.Anna Hazarefought to get this bill passed[where?], and it did pass on 27 December 2011, around 9:30,[when?]with some modifications. These were proposed as theJan Lokpal Bill. However, Hazare and his team, as well as other political parties, claimed that the Lokpal Bill passed was weak, and would not serve its intended purpose. So the proposed bill by the ruling Congress Party has yet to be accepted in the Rajya Sabha. As of 29 December 2011, the bill has been deferred to the next parliamentary session, amid much controversy and disruption by the LJP, RJD and SP parties. The media at large, and the opposition parties, claimed the situation had been staged.[2]Jan Lokpal Bill movementAnna Hazares hunger strike atJantar MantarinNew Delhi, on the second day of his fastMain article:Jan Lokpal BillJan Lokpal Bill (Citizens Ombudsman Bill) is a draft anti-corruption bill drawn up by prominent civil society activists, seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body that would investigate corruption cases, complete the investigation within one year and conduct trials for the case within the next year.Drafted by JusticeSantosh Hegde(a former Supreme Court Judge and former Lokayukta of Karnataka),Prashant Bhushan(a Supreme Court Lawyer) andArvind Kejriwal(an RTI activist), the draft Bill envisaged a system in which a corrupt person found guilty would go to jail within two years of the complaint being made and his ill-gotten wealth confiscated. It also sought power for the Jan Lokpal to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without requiring government permission.Retired IPS officerKiran Bediand others, like Anna Hazare, Swami Agnivesh, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and Mallika Sarabhai are also members of the movement, calledIndia Against Corruption. Its website describes the movement as an expression of collective anger of people of India against corruption. It goes on to state: We have all come together to force/request/persuade/pressurize the Government to enact the Jan Lokpal Bill. We feel that if this Bill were enacted it would create an effective deterrence against corruption.Anna Hazare, an anti-corruption crusader, began a fast-unto-death, demanding that this bill, drafted byCivil Society, be adopted. The website of the India Against Corruption movement calls the Lokpal Bill of the government an eyewash, and hosts a critique of that government bill. It also lists the difference between the bills drafted by the government and civilFeatures of the Jan Lokpal Bill1.An institution called Lokpal at the centre andLokayuktain each state will be set up.2.Like the Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.3.Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore: investigations in any case will have to becompleted in one year. Trial should be completed in the next one year, so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.4.The loss that a corrupt person caused tothe government will be recovered at the time of conviction.5.How will it help a common citizen? If the work of any citizen is not done in a prescribed time, in any government office, Lokpal will impose a financial penalty on the guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.6.So, you could approach Lokpal if your ration card or passport or voter card had not been made, or if the police are not registering your case, or if any other workis not being done within the prescribed time. Lokpal will have to get it done in a months time. You could also report any case of corruption to Lokpal, like rations being siphoned off, poor quality roads being constructed or panchayat funds being siphoned off.7.But wont the government appoint corrupt and weak people as Lokpal members? That wont be possible because its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities, not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatoryprocess.8.What if some officer in Lokpal becomes corrupt? The entire functioning of Lokpal/ Lokayukta will be completely transparent. Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal will be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months.9.What will happen to existing anti-corruption agencies? CVC, the departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of the CBI, will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecuteany officer, judge or politician.10.It will be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to those who are being victimized for raising their voice against corruption.Fundamental duties1.To judge the cases and make jurisdictions against corruption cases with the Lokpal.2.To judge whether a case is genuine or whether a fake complaint has been made.3.To potentially impose fines on a fake complaint, or even a short span of jail time, if the case is not proved to be legally true.Anna Hazare, aGandhianrights activist, had started a fast unto death atJantar MantarinNew Delhidemanding the passing of the bill. Hazare called off his hunger strike on the 9 April 2011, bringing to an end his 98-hour protest after the government issued agazettenotification constituting a 10-member Joint Committee of government ministers and civil society activists, including him, to draft a bill for the creation of an effective Lokpal. Thousands of people from all over India, especially youth, supported Anna Hazares cause by attending candle lit marches and conductingonline campaignsthroug
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 06:57:58 +0000