Lokpal search panel formed

The government informed the Supreme Court  on Friday that a eight-member search committee has been constituted in September 2018 for zeroing in on eligible candidates for Lokpal and the anti-corruption authority will frame its own rules of functioning. The panel is led by former Supreme Court judge, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.

On September 27, the Department of Personnel and Training issued a notification listing the names of the committee members. They are, retired Allahabad High Court judge Justice S.R. Singh Yadav, former Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, former State Bank of India chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya, IAS officer Dr. Lalit K. Panwar, former IPS officer S.S. Khandwawala, Prasar Bharati chairperson A. Surya Prakash, former ISRO chairman Dr. A.S. Kiran Kumar.

On July 24 last, the Supreme Court had said the government’s stand on completing the appointment of a Lokpal, an ombudsman to protect the common man from corruption in public service and power centres, was “wholly unsatisfactory”.

The court was reacting to an affidavit filed by the government, of which the stated aim was to specify the exact timeframe by which it would appoint the Lokpal. Instead, the government had said the appointment was a “complicated” process.

The eight-page affidavit said the Selection Committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met on July 19 on the choice of a Search Committee for Lokpal. Search Committee would prepare a panel of names for Lokpal.