Lokpal panel to pick eminent jurist on Mar 1

The prime agenda of the upcoming meeting of the Lokpal selection committee on March 1 shall be to finalise the ‘eminent jurist’ member on the panel.
As per Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, an eminent jurist is to be appointed to the selection committee on the recommendation of other members of the panel — the PM, Lok Sabha Speaker, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India. With there being no leader of opposition in the current Lok Sabha due to inadequate numbers of the principal opposition party, Congress, and the Lokpal Act yet to be amended to include leader of the single largest opposition party in the selection committee, the government has decided to call leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge as a special invitee to the meeting.

“While the current Act does not mandate representation of the largest opposition party in the selection committee, the government has decided to especially invite Kharge in the true spirit of democracy,” a government functionary told TOI.

The meeting will be attended by PM Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and CJI Dipak Misra, with Kharge and minister of state for Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh as special invitees.

Once the jurist is appointed to the Lokpal selection committee, the government plans to call another meeting of the full panel for authorising a search committee to prepare a panel of names to be considered for appointment as chairperson and members of the anti-graft ombudsman.

“The process can get underway even as the government seeks Parliament’s approval to amend the Lokpal & Lokayuktas Act,” said an official. A source said the Lokpal selection committee will on March 1 also discuss the “flaw” in the Act relating to silence on term of the eminent jurist that has been appointed.

“This effectively means he/she can continue in office indefinitely. There is a thinking in the government favouring capping of the jurist’s term at three years,” said a government functionary. The functionary said the selection panel will take a call on whether the ambiguity on the eminent jurist’s term should remain or the length of his/her tenure clearly defined.