NEW DELHI: A full bench of Lokpal shall consider initiation of a corruption complaint against the Prime Minister or an ex-Prime Minister, though the Lokpal (Complaint) Rules notified on Monday allow such a complaint to be disposed of within thirty days if its contents are illegible, vague, ambiguous, trivial or frivolous.
The Lokpal & Lokayuktas Act, 2013, already provides that proceedings relating to a corruption complaint against one who is or was Prime Minister, must be held in-camera and where Lokpal concludes that the complaint deserves to be dismissed, the records of such an inquiry shall not be published or made available to anyone.
Any complaint to Lokpal will essentially cover only ex-PMs who were in office seven years before it is filed as Section 53 of the Lokpal Act time-bars complaints where seven years have passed since commission of the offence complained about.
While a full bench of Lokpal will consider complaints against a PM or ex-PM at the admission stage with at least two-thirds of the members approving of initiation of inquiry, complaints against ministers and MPs shall be considered, at admission stage, by a bench comprising not less than three Lokpal members.
The Lokpal (Complaint) Rules, 2020 state that a complaint may be disposed of where the same cause is pending before any other court or tribunal or authority.
As per the rules, the identity of both the complainant and the public servant complained against shall be protected by Lokpal until conclusion of the inquiry or investigation. The protection, however, shall not be applicable in cases where the complainant himself has revealed his identity to any other office or authority while making a complaint to Lokpal.
The complainant, whether individual or a body, will have to furnish an identity or registration proof along with the complaint. Interestingly, the “smart card” issued by Registrar General of India as part of National Population Register (NPR) has been included in the list of documents acceptable as proof of identity.
A complaint to Lokpal may be filed electronically, by post or in person. It should ordinarily be in English, though Lokpal may also entertain complaints filed in any languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.
Lokpal may seek such other information or affidavit relating to a complaint, as it deems fit.
The Lokpal & Lokayuktas Act, 2013, already provides that proceedings relating to a corruption complaint against one who is or was Prime Minister, must be held in-camera and where Lokpal concludes that the complaint deserves to be dismissed, the records of such an inquiry shall not be published or made available to anyone.
Any complaint to Lokpal will essentially cover only ex-PMs who were in office seven years before it is filed as Section 53 of the Lokpal Act time-bars complaints where seven years have passed since commission of the offence complained about.
While a full bench of Lokpal will consider complaints against a PM or ex-PM at the admission stage with at least two-thirds of the members approving of initiation of inquiry, complaints against ministers and MPs shall be considered, at admission stage, by a bench comprising not less than three Lokpal members.
The Lokpal (Complaint) Rules, 2020 state that a complaint may be disposed of where the same cause is pending before any other court or tribunal or authority.
As per the rules, the identity of both the complainant and the public servant complained against shall be protected by Lokpal until conclusion of the inquiry or investigation. The protection, however, shall not be applicable in cases where the complainant himself has revealed his identity to any other office or authority while making a complaint to Lokpal.
The complainant, whether individual or a body, will have to furnish an identity or registration proof along with the complaint. Interestingly, the “smart card” issued by Registrar General of India as part of National Population Register (NPR) has been included in the list of documents acceptable as proof of identity.
A complaint to Lokpal may be filed electronically, by post or in person. It should ordinarily be in English, though Lokpal may also entertain complaints filed in any languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.
Lokpal may seek such other information or affidavit relating to a complaint, as it deems fit.
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