Contents

1. Introduction

2. International concept of Ombudsman

3. Panchayat Ombudsman
3.1. Appointment of Panchayat Ombudsman
3.2. The powers and functions of Panchayat Ombudsman
3.3. Provisions relating to complaints and investigations
3.4. Powers of Panchayat Ombudsman to investigate and take evidence
3.5. Matters not subject to investigation
3.6. Reports of Panchayat Ombudsman

4. Conclusions

5. References

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 Punchayat Ombudsman

1. Introduction:

The Ombudsman has long been one of the world’s most prominent grievance
redressal institutions. Originally from Sweden, it has been widely adopted by other countries
over the past five decades. Today, Ombudsman’s offices have been established in the United
States, Canada, most EU nations, New Zealand, the Philippines, Australia and many other
countries.

In India, the concept of Ombudsman was introduced by the Administrative Reform

Commission of 1966 which recommended the setting up of an Ombudsman both at the
Center (Lokpal) and the State (Lokayukta) with varying degrees of Power. Since then, 17
states have set up Lokayuktas headed by retired judges. However, the Lokpal is still to be
introduced at the Center. In 2001, Kerala became the first, State in India, to set up an
Ombudsman office for local governments (district and below). Like others around the world,

The Punchayat Ombudsman considers only complaints against local self government
institutions (LSGIs) and therefore tends to focus on service delivery and the interaction
between local government and citizens. Despite being unique in India, the institution has
received scant academic attention. This study attempts to begin a conversation about the
Punchayat Ombudsman by presenting a detailed account of its powers, functions, strengths
and weaknesses, as well as raising a few specific points of critical analysis.

Under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) efforts are
underway to create a nation wide system of Ombudsmen tasked with resolving complaints
related to NREGA work projects. On the eve of such a massive project, it is urgent that we
consider what can be learnt from the only other comparable Indian institution.

The Ombudsman is originally a Swedish institution. The “Special Parliamentary

Commissioner for Judiciary and the Civil Administration” (Justitie ombudsman na ambetet)

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was first instituted by the Swedish constitution of 1809. 1 The Ombudsman reflected the
then-novel idea that institutions, rather than solely broad political structures like the
separation of powers, were needed to protect the rights of the individual.2

The Swedish Ombudsman enforces “the observance of laws and statutes as applied
in all other matters by the courts and by public officials and employees” and can prosecute
“those who, in the exercise of their official duties, have through partiality, favouritism, or
other cause committed any unlawful act or neglected to perform their official duties
properly.”3 To do so, Ombudsmen can attend the deliberations of any Swedish court, inspect
public institutions, and are given access to the records of all courts, boards, and public
offices.4

The Swedish Ombudsman was the model for what is now known as the “classical”
Ombudsman. This designation is important because there are many institutions today that
use the name “Ombudsman” that have little in common with the original Swedish
institution. While the classical Ombudsman has varying definitions that emphasize different
features,5 there appears to be a settled core of meaning. The classical Ombudsman must be:

1. Established and independent. Must be formerly enshrined in law and operationally

independent and autonomous.

2. Powerful. Must have the ability to investigate complaints in full, and must be able to
meaningfully use the findings of the investigation. For instance, by initiating prosecution
or issuing recommendations.

3. Fair and impartial in attitude. Must not be anti-administration, nor anti-citizen. Must
simply seek to find the truth of the matter and act on its findings.

1
Jagerskiold, Stig. “The Swedish Ombudsman.” 8 University of Pennsylvania Law Review . 109 (1961)
2
Ibid., 1080.
3
Regeringsformen, article 96 via Jagerskiold, Stig, 1082.
4
Jagerskiold, Stig. 1079.
5
Larry B. Hill’s book Model Ombudsman (12) and “Essential Characteristics of a Classical Ombudsman”, a
reference document available through the United States Ombudsman Association at:
http://www.usombudsman.org/en/references/more_references/.

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2. International concept of Ombudsman:

The classical model of the Ombudsman has been adopted in many countries.
Denmark instituted an Ombudsman in 1954.6 An Ombudsman was created in New Zealand
in 1962.7 In 1969 Hawaii became the first American state to create an Ombudsman, and
today they exist in five states and various urban areas.8 By 1996 most Canadian provinces
had an Ombudsman.9 In the 1980s and 1990s Latin American countries such as Nicaragua,
Guatemala and Peru created Ombudsman offices - locally called a Procurador de Derechos
Humanos.10

However, implementation methods and success vary greatly even among classical
Ombudsmen. This section examines Ombudsman’s offices in three places: Sweden, the
American state of Hawaii, and Latin America.

Swedish Ombudsman aims to hold public officials accountable, according to relevant

laws and regulations.11 The Ombudsman’s jurisdiction is broad: he or she can investigate
complaints against local, regional or central government.12 Citizens access the Ombudsman
by submitting written complaints to the Ombudsman directly, although the Ombudsman can
initiate his or her own investigations based on media reports or other sources. 13 All
complaints submitted by citizens are investigated, as long as they are signed, although about
half turn out to be outside of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. For example, the Ombudsman
cannot investigate the actions of a private citizen.14 Complainants receive initial feedback on
their case, frequently on the same day it is submitted.15

6
Jagerskiold, 1077
7
Ombudsmen – History of the Office. Office of the Ombudsman (NZ). Web. 10 May 2010
<http://parliamentarian/index.php?CID=100014>
8
Hill, Larry B. “The Ombudsman Revisited: Thirty Years of Hawaiian Experience” Public Administration
Review vol 62(1) 2002: 24-41, 24
9
What is an Ombudsman? Forum of Canadian Ombudsman. Web. 10 May 2010
<http://www.ombudsmanforum.ca/whatis_e.asp>
10
Uggla, 427
11
There is also a military Ombudsman in Sweden. However for the purposes of this paper, we will focus on the
civil Ombudsman.
12
Rosenthal, Albert H. “The Ombudsman – Swedish ‘Grievance Man’” Public Administration Review vol
24(4) 1964: 226-230, 228.
13
Ibid.
14
Ibid., 228-229.
15
Ibid.

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 Once a complaint is received, the Ombudsman begins an investigation. To do so he
or she may compel any public official to assist in the investigation, and may request relevant
documents. 16 Essentially, the Ombudsman speaks to relevant individuals – the accused
administrator, those who work with him, his subordinates and superiors – and consults
official records to determine the facts of a complaint.17 To resolve the case, the Ombudsman
functions as a public prosecutor. He may initiate prosecution against the responsible official
or institution, though he is also able to request corrective action or issue a formal warning.18
Rarely does the Ombudsman need to resort to prosecution to persuade an institution to
change its behaviour or rectify a mistake.19

Contrast this with the far more informal office of the Hawaiian Ombudsman which
allows citizens to make complaints by telephone, and the majority of complaints are
submitted in that way.20 When a citizen calls to submit a complaint they first speak with the
office receptionist who determines whether the caller has a complaint within the
Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, or whether they need to be referred to another office.21 If the
complaint is within jurisdiction, the call is passed on to an analyst. After the complaint is
submitted, the analyst dictates the contents of the conversation to a tape recorder, and the
tapes are later transcribed by secretaries. More recently, some investigators have begun
recording the content of their conversations in a word processor.22The transcripts and other
relevant documents are kept together in individual case files.

The actual process of redressal is also highly informal. The Ombudsman’s office has
generally employed eight analysts whose duty is to resolve complaints. On any given day,
one analyst will have complaint duty, and all complaints submitted on that day are his or her
responsibility.23 The rest of the working week is dedicated to investigating and resolving
complaints. Most investigations are carried out over the telephone.

16
Ibid.
17
Jagerskiold, 1084.
18
Rosenthal, 228.
19
Ibid., 229.
20
Hill, 25. Between 1997-2002, 95% of complaints were submitted by phone, 4% were submitted through
letters, and 1% visited the office in person
21
Ibid., 27.
22
Ibid., 25.
23
Ibid., 26.

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 Weekly staff meetings allow analysts to present the complaints they’re presently
working on and receive advice from other analysts and the Ombudsman.24 It also enables the
Ombudsman to hold his staff accountable by monitoring their progress. 25 Whenever official
correspondence with complainants or bureaucrats is required, the Ombudsman reviews it
before it is mailed. While the Ombudsman does not have legal power to compel a
bureaucracy to reverse a decision or take specific action, nonetheless it appears to be
effective.

The Latin American Ombudsman offers yet another experience. Ombudsmen were
created in Guatemala (1985), Mexico (1990), Columbia (1991), El Salvador (1991),
Honduras (1992), Argentina (1993), Peru (1993), and Bolivia (1994). 26Though of course
there are variations between each country, some experiences have been broadly shared by all
of the Ombudsmen in Latin America and for this reason can be discussed as a group. Like
the original Swedish institution, the Ombudsmen are designed to function as public
prosecutors and can bring a case before the courts, although it is of course the courts which
decide the matter. 27 Though they lack independent legal power, they are able to issue
resolutions based on their findings when investigating government offices.28 The institution
is said to exercise a ‘moral power’, the effectiveness of which depends on whether or not the
office in question accepts the legitimacy of the Ombudsman’s resolutions.29

These examples illustrate the variety of ways that a single institution can
function in different contexts. The Swedish and Hawaiian Ombudsman, both lacking
coercive power, set about investigating cases and making recommendations, and are
generally successful in resolving the complaints. Latin American Ombudsmen, though
similar in institutional structure, concern themselves more with broad human rights issues
than individual complaints, and seek to resolve them through public advocacy rather than
solely through investigation.

24
Ibid., 27.
25
Ibid.
26
Uggla, 430.
27
Ibid., 432.
28
Ibid., 424.
29
Ibid., 428.

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3. Panchayat Ombudsman:

The Ombudsman was created as a response to the increased power given to local self
government institutions (LSGIs) by the Karnataka Panchayati Raj Act of 1993 (‘1993 Act’).
In 2010 the Act was amended to include provisions for the Ombudsman.

3.1. Appointment of Panchayat Ombudsman:

Panchayat Ombudsman is appointed under section 296-A of Karnataka Panchayati

Raj Act,1993.The section 296-A was inserted by amendment in 2010. (1) The State
Government shall by notification appoint for each of the Zilla Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat,
Grama Panchayat or for one or more of such Panchayats such number of officers of the State
Government to be the Panchayat Ombudsman.

(2) Where more than one officer is appointed for the same panchayat area the jurisdiction of
each of the Panchayat Ombudsman shall be specified in the notification issued under sub-
section (1).

(3) The Panchayat Ombudsman appointed under sub-section (1), shall be the competent
authority to pass verdict after hearing the grievances and complaints received against any
elected members, officers and officials of the Panchayat Raj Institutions within their
respective jurisdictions.

3.2. The powers and functions of Panchayat Ombudsman:

Karnataka Panchayati Raj Act,1993.The section 296-B was inserted by amendment

in 2010. Which explains about the powers and functions of Panchayat Ombudsman.

(1) The Panchayat Ombudsman shall have power to investigate any allegation or action
taken by panchayaths and the panchayat institutions and the institutions funded by
Panchayat elected members, the officers and officials of the panchayat institutions which are
substantially controlled or funded by the Panchayaths.

(2) The Panchayat Ombudsman shall submit a report to the Government on all the matters
including allegations against elected members, officer or official of such panchayaths

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 For the purpose of this section, the panchayat institutions include autonomous
societies and associations such as Village Water and Sanitation Committees, Watershed
Committees, Tank User’s Committees which enjoy certain degree of functional autonomy in
their operations.

Institutions funded by panchayat includes Banks and financial institutions, Non-

Governmental Organisations and other institutions that have been advanced funds by the
Zilla Panchayat or Taluk Panchayat or Grama Panchayat for providing certain services to the
specified or general category of persons.

3.3. Provisions relating to complaints and investigations:

Panchayat Ombudsman is empowered to investigate the complaints under section

296-C of Karnataka Panchayati Raj Act,1993.which is inserted by amendment in 2010.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, any person may make a complaint involving the
action or grievance, or allegations to the Panchayat Ombudsman against elected members
officer or officials of the Zilla Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat or the Grama Panchayat in
respect of any matter,-

(i) in which there is omission to do any work entrusted to him under the Act or Rules made
thereunder;
(ii) for his failure of service, including negligence, improper performance, irregular actions,
nepotism, favouritism and the like actions;
(iii) the complaint may also include the delays or failure in respect of any or all of the
following, namely:-
(a) disposal of applications/petitions/appeals;

(b) payments due from the panchayats / panchayat institutions;

(c) convening monthly meetings of the panchayats;
(d) selection of beneficiaries in the panchayat / panchayat institutions
(e) discharge of statutory functions conferred on the panchayat bodies under the Act or
rules made there under;
(f) such other functions as may be prescribed

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(2) Every complaint or allegation made under sub-section (1) shall be in the form of
statement supported by Affidavit and shall be in such form and in such manner as may be
prescribed.

(3) The Panchayat Ombudsman may after giving an opportunity of being heard to such
elected member, officers or the official investigate in such manner as may be prescribed and
send a report to the Government as the case may be which he considers appropriate in the
circumstances of the case.

3.4. Powers of Panchayat Ombudsman to investigate and take evidence:

Karnataka Panchayati Raj Act, 1993.The section 296-D was inserted by amendment
in 2010. Which empower the Panchayat Ombudsman to investigate and take
evidence.Panchayat Ombudsman has power of a civil court to make enquiry and take
evidence
(1) For the purpose of any investigation including the preliminary enquiry if any under this
Act, the Panchayat Ombudsman may require any person, in his opinion, is able to furnish
information or produce documents relevant to the investigation to furnish any such
information or produce any such document.

(2) For the purpose of any such investigation (including the preliminary inquiry), Panchayat
Ombudsman shall have the powers of a civil court while trying a suit under the Code of
Civil Procedure, 1908, in respect of the following matter, namely:-
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;
(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavits;
(d) requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or officer;
(e) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents;
(f) such other matters as may be prescribed.

(3) Any proceeding before the Panchayat Ombudsman shall be deemed to be a judicial
proceeding within the meaning of section 193 of the Indian Penal Code.

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(4) No person shall be required or authorised by virtue of this Act to furnish any such
information or answer any such question or produce so much of any document;

(a) as might prejudice the affairs of the State of Karnataka or the security or defence or
international relations of India (including India’s relations with the Government of any other
country or with any international organisation); and (b) as might involve the disclosure of
proceedings of the Cabinet of the State Government or any Committee of that Cabinet, For
the purpose of this sub-section, a certificate issued by the Chief Secretary certifying that any
information, answer or portion of a document is of the nature specified in clause (a) or
clause (b), shall be binding and conclusive.

(5) For the purpose of investigation under this Act, no person shall be compelled to give any
evidence or produce any document which he could not be compelled to give or produce in
proceedings before a Court.

3.5. Matters not subject to investigation:

Under section 296-E of Karnataka Panchayati Raj Act limits the Panchayat
Ombudsman not to investigate any matter,-

(i) which the Lokayukta or the uplokayukta is investigating under the provisions of the
Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984 (Karnataka Act 4 of 1985); or

(ii) which is being investigated by a competent authority under any provisions of the Central
Act or State enactments.

3.6 Reports of Panchayat Ombudsman:

After investigation and enquiry, Panchayat Ombudsman will write report to the
Government along with the relevant documents recommendations under section 296-F of
Karnataka Panchayati Raj Act, 1993.The section 296-F was inserted by amendment in
2010.
(1) If, after investigation of any action or allegation involving a grievance has been
made, the Panchayat Ombudsman is satisfied that such action has resulted in injustice or
undue hardship to the complainant or to any other person, he may by a report in writing,

10
recommend to the Government that such injustice or hardship shall be remedied or redressed
in such manner and within such time as may be specified in the report.

(2) If, after investigation of any action involving an allegation has been made, the Panchayat
Ombudsman is satisfied that such action or allegation is substantiated either wholly or
partly, he shall make specific report in writing to the Government communicating his
findings and recommendations along with the relevant documents, materials and other
evidence in support of his findings and recommendations

4.Conclusion:

Ombudsman has been used by thousands of citizens to resolve their complaints. In

comparison to a formal court it is cheap, accessible, and expeditious. The Ombudsman
verifies that its orders are being carried out and that the substance of the grievance has
actually been addressed. This much is clear from a casual investigation of the institution.

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6. References

List of Books:
 Galanter, Marc. Law and Society in Modern India. (Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1989).

List of Articles:
 Hill, Larry B. “The Ombudsman Revisited: Thirty Years of Hawaiian Experience” 62 (1)
Public Administration Review 24(2002)
 Jagerskiold, Stig. “The Swedish Ombudsman,” 109 (8) University of Pennsylvania Law
Review1078 (1961)
 Rosenthal, Albert H. “The Ombudsman – Swedish ‘Grievance Man’”24(4) Public
Administration Review 228 (1964).
 Sharma, Amita. Joint Secretary (NREGA). 7 “Ombudsman Instructions”11(2009).
 Uggla, Frank. “The Ombudsman in Latin America.” 36(3) Journal of Latin American
Studies 428 (2004)

List of Reports:
 “Annual report of Ombudsman for LSGI (2005-2006)”
 ”Annual report and delay statement of Ombudsman for LSGI (2005-2006)”
 ”Ombudsman for LSGI Thiruvananthapuram Annual report (2008-2009)”
 Das, Justice T.K. Chandrasekhara “Annual report of Ombudsman for LSGI (2004-2005)”
 Interview with Mr. Jawaharl, Secretary to the Ombudsman, May 4 2010.
 Karnataka Panchayati Raj Act of 1993 (amended-2010)
 Kerala Panchayati Raj (amendment) Act 1999
 Menon, Justice K.P. Radhakrishna, “Annual Report of Ombudsman for LSGI (2002-2003)”.
 Mohammed, Shri. Justice P.A. “Ombudsman for LSGI First Annual Report” 2002, 1-3
 Nair, Justice M. R. Hariharan. “Annual report and delay statement of Ombudsman for LSGI
(2007-2008)”
 Nair, Justice M.R. Hariharan. - Email interview Report. May 19, 28 and July 2 2010.
 Nair, Justice M.R. Hariharan. - Personal interview Report. April 28 and May 4 2010.

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 Vijayanand, SM. “Kerala: A Case Study of Classical Democratic Decentralization”
prepared for submission to the 13th Finance Commission. Kerala Institute of Local
Administration (KILA). 2009

List of Websites:
 Ombudsmen – History of the Office. Office of the Ombudsman (NZ). Web. 10 May 2010
<http://www.ombudsmen.parliament.nz/index.php?CID=100014>
 What is an Ombudsman? Forum of Canadian Ombudsman. Web. 10 May 2010
http://www.ombudsmanforum.ca/whatis_e.asp

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