Jagran
Post: New Delhi: Tuesday, 07 October 2014.
The Central
government has declined to make public details of people who have applied for
becoming chairperson and members of anti-corruption body Lokpal, saying the
information is held by it in "fiduciary relationship".
Replying to
an RTI query, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said the process
of making functional the Lokpal organisation is yet to be completed.
"Your
application pertain to the persons having fiduciary relationship with the DoPT.
Moreover, the process of making the Lokpal organisation functional is yet to be
completed. Hence, the information is not being furnished at this stage,' the
DoPT said in reply to an RTI application.
The DoPT was
asked to provide the details of persons who have expressed their desire to be
chairperson and members of the Lokpal. The names were also sought of persons
chosen to be part of the search committee which is mandates to prepare a panel
of persons who may be considered by the Prime Minister- led selection committee
for appointment as chairperson and members of the Lokpal.
The Lokpal
and Lokayuktas Act provides for establishment of a Lokpal for the Union and
Lokayuktas for the states to inquire into corruption charges against public
functionaries.
The DoPT has
given an advertisement seeking applications from suitable persons for becoming
chairperson and members of the Lokpal. It has got nominations from various
individuals in that regard.
The Centre
had last month notified the new Lokpal search committee rules, giving it more
freedom to recommend names for chairperson and members of the anti-corruption
body outside the list provided by the DoPT.
The earlier
rules, which were formed by the previous UPA government, mandated the search
committee to prepare a panel of persons to be considered by the selection
committee for appointment as the chairperson and members of the Lokpal, from
amongst the list of persons given by the DoPT.
The
government has also reduced the composition of the search committee to seven
members from eight.
The committee
will now consist of at least seven persons of standing and having special
knowledge in anti-corruption, public administration and vigilance among others,
the rules said.
As per the
earlier norms, an eight-member search panel was tasked to draw up a panel of
persons for consideration by the selection committee.
The Lokpal
selection committee has as members the Lok Sabha Speaker, the Leader of
Opposition in Lok Sabha, the Chief Justice of India or a judge of the apex
court nominated by him, and an eminent jurist who could be nominated by the
President or any other member.
The UPA
government had chosen eight persons for appointment as chairperson or members
of the search committee during a meeting held on February 21, this year.
Those
selected then included Justice (retd) K T Thomas (Chairperson) and seven
members Kaki Madhava Rao (former IAS officer), F S Nariman (legal luminary),
Prof Meenakshi Gopinath (educationist), M L Kumawat (former Director General of
Border Security Force), H K Dua (senior journalist and Rajya Sabha member), S Y
Quraishi (former Chief Election Commissioner) and Prof Mrinal Miri (Rajya Sabha
member).
In a setback
to the UPA government, Thomas and Nariman had later refused to be part of the
search panel.
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