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Govt stand on Lokpal appointment is ‘wholly unsatisfactory,’ says Supreme Court
Why it is in news?
- The Supreme Court said the government’s stand on completing the appointment of a Lokpal an ombudsman to protect the common man from corruption in public service and power centres, was “wholly unsatisfactory.”
- The court was reacting to an affidavit filed by the government the stated aim of it being to specify the exact time frame by which it would appoint a Lokpal.
- Instead the government represented by Attorney General said it was a “complicated” process.
Govt dragging feet
- Petitioner said
- The government is just dragging their feet.
- The court should start the procedure of appointing a search committee [to shortlist the candidates for Lokpal.
- The judges should consult among themselves.Let the Supreme Court give names and let the court appoint a Lokpal.
- At this point, Mr. Venugopal said the court may make it clear what “details” it wanted from the government in the second affidavit
- It said Mr. Venugopal “suggested” the court should “lay down” the details the government has to include in its second affidavit. Refusing the Attorney General, the court responded that “we do not feel the necessity” to guide the government on what it should or should not include in its affidavit.
- The court asked the government to file an affidavit in four weeks.
- The selection panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on July 19 for finalising a search committee for finding a Lokpal.
Finalising a search panel will take time: AG
- Outside the courtroom AG said finalising a search committee would take time.
- Besides, the appointment process should be inclusive.
- A thorough vetting of the candidates for Lokpal is a must, he added.
- The court has for the past several months been constantly urging the government to complete the Lokpal appointment.
- Though passed in 2014, the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013 had not been implemented all these years because there was no Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the 16th Lok Sabha.
- The 2013 statute includes the LoP as a member of the selection committee.
- The Act intends the LoP to be the part of the selection committee of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Speaker, which has to first appoint an eminent jurist among their ranks.
- The judgment dismissed the government’s reasoning that the Lokpal appointment process should wait till the 2013 Act was amended to replace the LoP with the single largest Opposition party leader.
Source
The Hindu