Lokpal Bill
(Citizen Ombudsman Bill)
--Envisages an agency which will
investigate corruption cases and prosecute the guilty.
-- The bill was inspired by the
Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).In the 1970s, the
level of corruption in Hong Kong was seen so high,that the government created
the commission with direct powers to investigate and deal with corruption. In
the first instance, the ICAC sacked 119 out of 180 police officers.
--The bill was first introduced by Shanti Bhushan in the
4th Lok Sabha in 1968. The
bill was passed in the lower house but before it could be passed in the upper
house, the Loksabha was disolved and the bill lapsed.
--Subsequent versions were re-introduced
in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008,but none of them
were passed.
--Moreover, the bill is a very bitter pill
for the corrupt ministers to swallow !!. That is why even after, 44 years, the
bill has not been made into a law.
--In 2011, during the Parliament's Winter
Session, the Lok Sabha passed controversial Lokpal Bill, but it was
subsequently turned down in the Rajya Sabha.
--The demand for a fair Jan Lokpal Bill
was raised by Mr Anna Hazare, a famous social activist. Subsequently the civil
society's version of the bill was presented by Team Anna (Anna Hazare, Arvid
Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi etc.).
--The team went on hunger Strike twice to
coerce the government. On 27 November 2011, "The Lokpal and The Lokayukta
Bill" (the one framed by the government, and outright rejected by Team
Anna owing to glaring loopholes) was passed in Loksabha but could not reach its
conclusion in the RajyaSabha. The government promised to bring it up in the
next session of the Parliament. The main reason behind this failure to reach a
conclusion in RajyaSabha, was that the Ruling UPA does not have a majority in
the upper house.
Now, let us examine the salient provisions
proposed in the Civil Society Jan Lokpal Bill :-
1) Set up an anti-corruption institution
in the form of Lokpal at Center and the Lokayukta at the state level.
2) As is the case with the Supreme Court
and Cabinet Secretariat, the Lokpal will be supervised by the Cabinet Secretary
and the Election Commission. As a result, it will be completely independent of
the government and free from ministerial influence in its investigation
3) Members will be appointed by
judges, Indian Administrative Service officers with a clean record, private
citizens and constitutional authorities through a transparent and participatory
process.
4) A selection committee will invite
short-listed candidates for interviews, the video recordings of which will
thereafter be made public.
5) Every month on its website,
the Lokayukta will publish a list of cases dealt with, brief details
of each.
6) Investigations of each case must
be completed in one year.
7) Losses to the government by a
corrupt individual will be recovered at the time of conviction.
8) Government office-work required by
a citizen that is not completed within a prescribed time period will result
in Lokpal imposing financial penalties on those responsible
9) Complaints against any officer
of Lokpal will be investigated and completed within month and, if
found to be substantive, will result in the officer being dismissed within two
months.
10) The existing anti-corruption
agencies [CVC], departmental vigilance and the anti-corruption branch of the
[CBI] will be merged into Lokpal which will have complete power
authority to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or
politician.
11) Whistle-blowers who alert the agency
to potential corruption cases will also be provided with protection by it.
|
Difference between Jan Lokpal Bill and Draft Bill
2010
|
|
|
Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's Ombudsman Bill)
|
Draft Lokpal Bill (2010)
|
|
Lokpal will
have powers to initiate suo motu action or
receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
|
Lokpal will
have no power to initiate suo motu action or
receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It can only probe
complaints forwarded by the Speaker of theLok Sabha or the Chairman of
the Rajya Sabha.
|
|
Lokpal will
have the power to initiate prosecution of anyone found guilty.
|
Lokpal will
only be an Advisory Body with a role limited to forwarding reports to a
"Competent Authority".
|
|
Lokpal will
have police powers as well as the ability to register FIRs.
|
Lokpal will
have no police powers and no ability to register an FIR or
proceed with criminal investigations.
|
|
Lokpal and
the anti corruption wing of the CBI will be one independent body.
|
The CBI
and Lokpal will be unconnected.
|
|
Punishments
will be a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of up to life imprisonment.
|
Punishment
for corruption will be a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of up to 7 years.
|
|
PM can be
investigated.
|
PM
can only be investigated after he\she has left the office.
|
|
Judiciary
can be investigated.
|
Judiciary
is exempt from this and will be investigated under ‘Judicial Accountability
Bill’.
|
|
All public
servants would be included.
|
Only
senior officers (Group A) will be covered.
|
|
Protection
granted to whistleblower.
|
No
protection to the whistleblower.
|
|
NGOs not
within the scope due to their role in exposing corruption.
|
NGOs
within the scope.
|
--The Anna team has come under fire
several times, being accused that the proposed Civil Society bill is too naive
and the idea of imparting so much power to a single institution is against the
federal structure of our constitution.
--The bill has been criticised as being naïve in its approach to combating corruption. According to Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President of the Center for Policy Research Delhi,the bill "is premised on an institutional imagination that is at best naïve; at worst subversive of representative democracy". The very concept of a Lokpal concept has received criticism from HRD minister Kapil Sibal in that it will lack accountability, be oppressive and undemocratic.
-- The pro-bill activist Arvind Kejriwal rejects the claim of Lokpal being extra-constitutional with the explanation that the body will only investigate corruption offences and submit a charge sheet which would then tried and prosecuted through trial courts and higher courts, and that other bodies with equivalent powers in other matters exist. The proposed bill also lists clear provisions for the Supreme Court to abolish the Lokpal.
--Current Anti Corruption Institutions:
CVC - Central Vigilance Committtee :
Workforce of 200-250 people to check corruption of 57 lakh employees !!!!
CBI: Central Bureau of
Investigation. - A puppet in the hand of Center.
--Current Situation as of 23 May 2012:-
The government has referred the Lokpal
Bill to a select committee of Rajya Sabha, which has been given time to
deliberate on it till the first day of the last week of monsoon session. It is
now evident that the law will not be passed before the monsoon session that
will get underway in August. Even if it is passed, it will have to go back to
Lok Sabha because it is a revised bill. That will postpone the bill till the
winter session of Parliament. It is all a hazy picture.
Some much deserved criticism:-
The UPA government is doing nothing, but
wasting time debating whether to introduce the anti-graft bill or not. However,
politicians, whether in ruling party or in opposition, will not support the
anti-corruption bill. Even if the bill is passed, politicians will ensure that
it is in their favour so that they can continue with their corrupt activities
and escape the law even when caught.
If you look at all the corruption cases
till now in which politicians were caught, none of them have been punished by
law and all are out on bail. Why will the Centre bring in a bill that will hurt
its interest? In fact, many politicians from Maharashtra have their black money
stashed in Swiss banks. For example, there are many commercial real estate
projects in Mumbai, which are just lying vacant with no buyers interested in
them. One must inquire as to who these investors are and where is all this
money coming from.
Hope the article helped,
Till Next Time,
Take Care and Bye,
Ashish Mishra
Credits:-
Wikipedia
Rediff
DNA
No comments:
Post a Comment