the Jan Lokpal Bill (Hindi:
) (also
referred to as the citizens' ombudsman bill) is a proposed anti-corruption law designed to effectively deter corruption, redress grievances and protect whistleblowers. The law would create an ombudsman called the Lokpal; this would be an independent body similar to the Election Commission of India with the power to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without prior government permission.[1]
A compromise bill, merging the Government's version and that of the civil group's version (Jan Lokpal), is being drafted by a committee of five Cabinet Ministers and five social activists. As of July 2011, the most current version of the bill is version 2.3, according to the government website. For 42 years, the government-drafted bill has failed to pass the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.[2] The first Lokpal Bill was passed in the 4th Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament, in 1969 but stalled in the Rajya Sabha. Subsequent Lokpal bills were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and 2008 but all failed to pass.[3] Following the four day Anna Hazare fasting struggle,[clarification needed] Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that the Lokpal Bill would be introduced in the 2011 monsoon session of parliament
Renewed calls for a Jan Lokpal Bill arose over resentment of the major differences between the draft 2010 Lokpal Bill prepared by the government and the Jan Lokpal Bill prepared by the members of this movement, N. Santosh Hegde, a former justice of the Supreme Court of India and Lokayukta of Karnataka, Shanti Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan, a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court along with the members of the India Against Corruption movement. The bill's backers consider existing laws too weak and insufficiently enforced to stop corruption
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To establish a central government anti-corruption institution called Lokpal, supported by Lokayukta at the state level. As in the case of the Supreme Court and Cabinet Secretariat, the Lokpal will be supervised by the Cabinet Secretary and the Election Commission. As a result, it will be completely independent of the government and free from ministerial influence in its investigations.
Members will be appointed by judges, Indian Administrative Service officers with a clean record, private citizens and constitutional authorities through a transparent and participatory process.
A selection committee will invite shortlisted candidates for interviews, videorecordings of which will thereafter be made public.
Every month on its website, the Lokayukta will publish a list of cases dealt with, brief details of each, their outcome and any action taken or proposed. It will also publish lists of all cases received by the Lokayukta during the previous month, cases dealt with and those which are pending.
Investigations of each case must be completed in one year. Any resulting trials should be concluded in the following year, giving a total maximum process time of two years.
Losses caused to the government by a corrupt individual will be recovered at the time of conviction.
Government officework required by a citizen that is not completed within a prescribed time period will result in Lokpal imposing financial penalties on those responsible, which will then be given as compensation to the complainant.
Complaints against any officer of Lokpal will be investigated and completed within a month and, if found to be substantive, will result in the officer being dismissed within two months.
The existing anti-corruption agencies (CVC, departmental vigilance and the anticorruption branch of the CBI) will be merged into Lokpal which will have complete power and authority to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.
Whistleblowers who alert the agency to potential corruption cases will also be provided with protection by it.
Draft Lokpal Bill (2010)
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Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's Ombudsman Bill)
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Lokpal will have no power to initiate suo motu action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It can only probe complaints forwarded by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Lokpal will have powers to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
Lokpal will only be an Advisory Body with a role limited to forwarding reports to a "Competent Authority
Lokpal will have the power to initiate prosecution of anyone found guilty.
Draft Lokpal Bill (2010)
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Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's Ombudsman Bill
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Lokpal will have no police powers and no ability to register an First Information Report or proceed with criminal investigations
Lokpal will have police powers as well as the ability to register FIRs.
Lokpal and the anti corruption wing of the CBI will be one independent
The CBI and Lokpal will be unconnected.
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body. Punishments will be a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of up to life imprisonment.
Punishment for corruption will be a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of up to 7 years.
On March 13, 2011, a group of Delhi residents
dressed in white shirts
and t-shirts drove around the city for four hours in support of an anticorruption campaign and the passing of a Jan Lokpal Bill.
Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare went on hunger strike "unto death" on
April 5, 2011, pending the enactment of a Jan Lokpal Bill.
Around 6,000 Mumbai residents also began a one-day fast in support of
similar demands.
Protesters chose yellow as their colour and were seen wearing yellow
dresses, T-shirts while waving yellow banners. Inter city protest coordination is underway to observe Yellow Sunday
Hazare also announced plans to start a Jail Bharo Andolan protest on 13 April 2011 if the Jan Lokpal bill is not passed by the government. He also stated that his group has received six crore (60 million) text messages of support
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and that he has further backing from a large number of Internet activists. The protests are not associated with any political parties, and Hazare supporters discouraged political leaders from joining the protests, because Hazare believes that political parties were using the campaign for their own political advantage
The drafting committee was officially formed on 8 April 2011. It consists of ten members, including five from the government and five drawn from society
The Government of India accepted that the committee be co-chaired by a politician and an activist, non-politician. It is reported that Pranab Mukherjee, from the political arena, and Shanti Bhushan, from civil society, will fill those roles.
Five Cabinet ministers will be a part of the Drafting Committee. They are:
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Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister, Co-Chairman; P. Chidambaram, Minister of Home Affairs; Veerappa Moily, Minister of Corporate Affairs; Kapil Sibal, Minister for Communications and Information Technology; and
Salman Khursid, [[Minister of minority affairs
Five leading social activists will be a part of the Drafting Committee. They are:
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Shanti Bhushan, Former Minister of Law and Justice, CoChairman;
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Anna Hazare, Social Activist; Prashant Bhushan, Lawyer; N. Santosh Hegde, Lokayukta (Karnataka); and Arvind Kejriwal. The involvement of the Bhushans has been questioned after a new CD controversy.
