Disappointed over the slow pace of progress, the Supreme Court Friday directed the Centre to file an affidavit on the steps taken to appoint a Lokpal within two weeks. The next hearing of the case has been scheduled for January 17.
Disappointed over the slow pace of progress, the Supreme Court Friday directed the Centre to file an affidavit on the steps taken to appoint a Lokpal within two weeks. The next hearing of the case has been scheduled for January 17.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul asked Attorney General K K Venugopal to file the affidavit on the measures taken since the last order of September 2018. “You have to ensure on affidavit the steps taken on the issue of setting up of a search committee for the Lokpal,” the bench said.
When the attorney general said that several steps have been taken since then, the bench asked him “what all have you done till date. So much time is being taken”.
When the attorney general reiterated that several steps have been taken, the bench shot back “bring everything on record what you have done since September 2018”.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO Common Cause, which has been pursuing the issue of Lokpal, said the Centre has not even made public the members of the search committee on its website.
The government has already constituted an eight-member search panel headed by former SC Judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, to recommend a chairperson and members of the Lokpal, an anti-corruption ombudsman. The other members of the committee are: former chief of State Bank of India (SBI) Arundhati Bhattacharya, Prasar Bharati chairperson A Surya Prakash, former ISRO head A S Kiran Kumar, former Allahabad High Court Judge Sakha Ram Singh Yadav, former Gujarat Police chief Shabbirhusein S Khandwawala, retired IAS officer (Rajasthan cadre) Lalit K Panwar, and former Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar.
Last month, the Supreme Court had sought the Centre’s views on a petition which demanded that the leader of Opposition in the committee for appointments to high offices — such as CBI Director, Chief Vigilance Commissioner, Chief Information Commissioner and Lokpal — may be read as leader of the single largest opposition party in Parliament.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul had issued notices on the plea filed by NGO Youth For Equality, which had also challenged the amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act mandating prior sanction for initiating a probe against government officials. While the plea also wanted the court to issue a direction for unanimous vote of the committee in these appointments, the bench refused to accept this and decided to restrict itself to the other two issues.
Meanwhile, social activist Anna Hazare has threatened to launch a hunger strike from January 30 over the Centre’s failure to appoint the Lokpal as per the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013. Claiming that he had earlier postponed or suspended agitations due to promises made by the Narendra Modi government and its emissaries, Hazare said that he had been wrong to trust their “lies”.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul asked Attorney General K K Venugopal to file the affidavit on the measures taken since the last order of September 2018. “You have to ensure on affidavit the steps taken on the issue of setting up of a search committee for the Lokpal,” the bench said.
When the attorney general said that several steps have been taken since then, the bench asked him “what all have you done till date. So much time is being taken”.
When the attorney general reiterated that several steps have been taken, the bench shot back “bring everything on record what you have done since September 2018”.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO Common Cause, which has been pursuing the issue of Lokpal, said the Centre has not even made public the members of the search committee on its website.
The government has already constituted an eight-member search panel headed by former SC Judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, to recommend a chairperson and members of the Lokpal, an anti-corruption ombudsman. The other members of the committee are: former chief of State Bank of India (SBI) Arundhati Bhattacharya, Prasar Bharati chairperson A Surya Prakash, former ISRO head A S Kiran Kumar, former Allahabad High Court Judge Sakha Ram Singh Yadav, former Gujarat Police chief Shabbirhusein S Khandwawala, retired IAS officer (Rajasthan cadre) Lalit K Panwar, and former Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar.
Last month, the Supreme Court had sought the Centre’s views on a petition which demanded that the leader of Opposition in the committee for appointments to high offices — such as CBI Director, Chief Vigilance Commissioner, Chief Information Commissioner and Lokpal — may be read as leader of the single largest opposition party in Parliament.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul had issued notices on the plea filed by NGO Youth For Equality, which had also challenged the amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act mandating prior sanction for initiating a probe against government officials. While the plea also wanted the court to issue a direction for unanimous vote of the committee in these appointments, the bench refused to accept this and decided to restrict itself to the other two issues.
Meanwhile, social activist Anna Hazare has threatened to launch a hunger strike from January 30 over the Centre’s failure to appoint the Lokpal as per the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013. Claiming that he had earlier postponed or suspended agitations due to promises made by the Narendra Modi government and its emissaries, Hazare said that he had been wrong to trust their “lies”.