Ombudsman

Meaning and Role

An indigenous Swedish, Danish and Norwegian term, Ombudsman is etymologically rooted in the

word umbosmar, essentially meaning representative. Whether appointed by a legislature, the

executive, or an organization, the typical duties of an ombudsman are to investigate complaints

and attempt to resolve them, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation.

Ombudsmen sometimes also aim to identify systemic issues leading to poor service or breaches of

people's rights. The concept of Ombudsman at first originated in Sweden, a Scandinavian state, in

1809 more than two centuries ago. From the beginning of the twentieth century the system began

to draw attention of several other European states.

For example Finland created the institution of Ombudsman in 1919, Denmark in 1955 and Norway

in 1961. The institution of Ombudsman drew the attention of several European states, and they did

borrow the term. Some countries used the term Parliamentary commission and New Zealand is

one of them.

From the’ beginning of 1960s the British government was seriously thinking about instituting a

body to remedy people’s grievances against public administration and to provide a constitutional

safeguard against the misuse of power. In 1966 the British government appointed a Parliamentary

Commissioner. In 1973 Parliamentary Commissioner also acted as Health Commissioner.

At the national level, most ombudsmen have a wide mandate to deal with the entire public sector,
and sometimes also elements of the private sector (for example, contracted service providers).
Further redress depends on the laws of the country concerned, but this typically involves financial
compensation. The Reserve Bank of India launched an "Ombudsman Scheme" for redress of
complaints against non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) free of charge.
This scheme is applicable to only those NBFCs which:

• Have assets of more than ₹1,00,00,00,000; AND/OR

• Accept deposits.
The complainant can file the complaint with the NBFC Ombudsman under whose jurisdiction the
branch or registered office of the NBFC falls in the following cases:

• If the NBFC does not reply within a period of one month after receipt of the complaint;
• If the complainant is not satisfied with the reply given by the NBFC;
• If the NBFC rejects, or does not acknowledge the complaint.
• The Government of India has designated several ombudsmen (sometimes called Chief Vigilance
Officer (CVO)) for the redress of grievances and complaints from individuals in the banking,
insurance and other sectors being serviced by both private and public bodies and corporations.
For example, the CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) was set up on the recommendation of
the Santhanam Committee (196264). CVC has been conceived to be the apex vigilance
institution, free of control from any executive authority, monitoring all vigilance activity under
the Central Government and advising various authorities in Central Government organizations in
planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work. Central Vigilance
Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body created in 1964 to address
governmental corruption. In 2003, the Parliament enacted a law conferring statutory status on the
CVC. It has the status of an autonomous body, free of control from any executive authority,
charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of India, advising
various authorities in central Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing and
reforming their vigilance work.
• To receive and investigate complaints from aggrieved persons against government agencies and
statutory corporations and /or officials and employees of such agencies and organizations.
• To recommend remedial action where he finds a complaint justified
• The major advantage of an ombudsman is that he or she examines complaints from outside the
offending state institution, thus avoiding the conflicts of interest inherent in self-policing.
However, the ombudsman system relies heavily on the selection of an appropriate individual for
the office, and on the cooperation of at least some effective official from within the apparatus of
the state.