New Delhi, September 6: A high-level search committee has issued a call for applications to fill the positions of Chairperson and Members for the Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman, which has been without a permanent chief for over a year. Currently, Justice Pradip Kumar Mohanty, a judicial member of the Lokpal, serves as the acting Chairperson.
The Lokpal, an institution tasked with combatting corruption, is led by a Chairperson and can have up to eight members, comprising four judicial and four non-judicial members. Currently, the Lokpal is operating with just five members, with two judicial and one non-judicial position remaining vacant.
The Lokpal has been without a regular chief since the conclusion of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose’s term on May 27 of the previous year. In the previous month, the government appointed Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, the Chairperson of the Press Council of India (PCI), to lead a ten-member search committee responsible for recommending the appointment of the Lokpal’s chief and members.
An advertisement released by the search committee stated, “Applications/nominations from eligible candidates are invited for the purpose of recommending a panel for consideration by the Lokpal’s selection committee for the appointment of the Chairperson and members.” The deadline for the submission of complete applications or nominations is September 28, 2023, at 5 pm.
The advertisement emphasized that applications received after the specified deadline will not be considered. The appointment of the Lokpal’s Chairperson and members is made by the President based on the recommendations of a selection committee headed by the Prime Minister. Other members of the selection committee include the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lower House, the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court Judge nominated by them, and an eminent jurist recommended by the selection panel’s Chairperson and members.
According to the Lokpal Act, candidates eligible for the position of Chairperson must have served as the Chief Justice of India, a Supreme Court Judge, or be an “eminent person” with impeccable integrity and at least 25 years of expertise in matters related to anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance (including insurance and banking), and law and management.
Judicial members of the Lokpal should be either former Supreme Court Judges or former Chief Justices of a High Court, while non-judicial members should possess impeccable integrity, outstanding ability, and at least 25 years of expertise in anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance (including insurance and banking), and law and management.
Additionally, the advertisement stipulates that applicants must be at least 45 years old at the time of assuming office as the Chairperson or a member of the Lokpal. The term of office for the Chairperson and members of the Lokpal is five years from the date of assuming office or until they reach the age of 75, whichever occurs first.
