what is jan lok pal bill in india? Who is Anna Hazare? India Against Corruption

The word Lokpal means an ombudsman in India. The word has been derived from the Sanskrit words "loka" (people) and "pala" (protector/caretaker). So the word Lokpal means 'protector of people'. The concept of Lokpal has been drawn up to root out corruption at high places in the prevailing Indian polity.

Jan lokpal bill of India has been lingering for more than 42 years. What miracle could have been expected from Indian government in two months? At the end of the prescribed period, it is now clear that Jan lokpal bill may still not be an accomplished dream.

Jan Lokpal Bill must not be any simple piece of Legislation. Rather, it must be Strong, Robust and Effective, says Praveen Dalal, a Supreme Court Lawyer and leading techno legal expert of India. None can doubt the effectiveness of Technology for bringing Accountability and Transparency. Unfortunately, the version of both Civil Society and Indian Government failed to consider this aspect, says Dalal.

It seems Indian government is not willing to accommodate suggestions and inputs of public at large. If this is the scenario then the chances of Jan lokpal being a good one are very bleak.

Who is Anna Hazare?

Anna Hazare, a Gandhian born on 15 June 1937 in Bhaaingar, a small village in Maharashtra. He won the Padma Bhushan from the government of India in 1992 for development and structuring of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Maharashtra and his efforts for establishing it as a model village.

 

What is Jan LokPal Bill?

"The Jan Lokpal Bill also called as Citizen's ombudsman Bill is a draft anti-corruption bill drawn up by prominent civil society activists seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body that would investigate corruption cases, complete the investigation within a year and envisages trial in the case getting over in the next one year."

This bill was first introduced by Shanti Bhushan in 1968 but could not pass through Rajya Sabha. This again got introduced many times but failed to come out as a law. Early this year Anna Hazare started a Sathyagraha at Delhi demanding the pass of the bill and got attention of the media as well as the public. A voluntary organization named India Against Corruption (IAC)was formed and a draft bill is formed by Justice Santosh Hegde, former Supreme Court Judge and former Lokayukta of Karnataka, Prashant Bhushan,Supreme Court Lawyer and Arvind Kejriwal an RTI activist.

The government has finally introduced their own version in Parliament but Hazare and team called it an eyewash. As per the government version:

1. Lokpal does not have powers to investigate the Prime Minister
2. Lokpal can only probe complaints approved by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
3. Lokpal will only be an Advisory Body with a role limited to forwarding reports to a Competent Authority
4. Lokpal will have no police powers and no ability to register a First Information Report or proceed with criminal investigations
5. The CBI and Lokpal will be unconnected
6. Punishment for corruption will be a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of up to 7 years

Now the question is why we need a LokPal bill which does not have any power to take action against the political leaders? Government want the investigation to be done by the CBI which is directly controlled by the prime minister. Even a common man understand the outcome of an investigation by CBI against the PM! Again what people are asking is why Congress party is so much worried about bringing PM under LokPal!

What's there in the Jan Lokpal for the common man? It's a bill by the common man for the common man, if any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.

History

The basic idea of the Lok Pal is borrowed from the office of ombudsman, which has played an effective role in checking corruption and wrong-doing in Scandinavian and other nations. In early 1960s, mounting corruption in public administration set the winds blowing in favour of an Ombudsman in India too. The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) set up in 1966 recommended the constitution of a two-tier machinery - of a Lokpal at the Centre, and Lokayukta(s) in the states.

Duties

Prime Minister or a House of Parliament — to whom a Lokpal sends its report holds that the allegations of corruption made in a complaint against the Prime Minister, or a Minister or MP (present or past) have not been proved, "notwithstanding anything contained in any other law", "no prosecution shall lie on any complaint, report, information or otherwise and no court shall take cognisance of any offence on the basis of the same or substantially the same allegations." The Lokpal is empowered to give directions for deferring or suspending any ongoing police investigations in matters covered by the complaints made to it.

Criticism

The Lokpal bill is intended to provide the common man with direct powers to censure his/her elected representative. However, every complainant has to pay fees and take full responsibility for leveling charges. In case the complaint is found to be baseless, punitive action extending to two years in jail and monetary fine of up to Rs.50,000 may be imposed on the complainant.

Charges of corruption in the Indian legal system are not necessarily covered only under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 but also under many other Acts, but the Lokpal restricts its ambit to the cases under this Act.

Regarding the constitution of the Lokpal, the Chairman of the Lokpal shall be from among past or present chief justices of Supreme Court. But the other two members of the Lokpal may also be from those qualified to be judges of the Supreme Court. The loose end left here makes countless many from India’s entire judiciary eligible for the post including those who are also senior party politicians with legal background.