A REVIEW OF THE LOKPAL AND LOKAYUKTAS ACT, 2013

5.4 Administrative Law

Submitted by:

Nakul Chadha

UID No- UG 2019-66

B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) 3rd Year, 1st Semester

Submitted to:

Prof. Anuja Misra

(Assistant Professor of Law)

MAHARASHTRA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, NAGPUR

1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................3
OBJECTIVE.............................................................................................................................3
RESEARCH QUESTIONS/HYPOTESIS.............................................................................3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...........................................................................................4
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT..........................................................................................4
NEED FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LOKPAL..........................................................6
THE LOKPAL AND LOKAYUKTAS ACT, 2013...............................................................7
SALIENT FEATURES........................................................................................................................................7

LOKPAL AND LOKAYUKTA AMENDMENT ACT, 2016...............................................8

ANALYSIS................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................11
INTRODUCTION

Maladministration is like a termite that slowly erodes the foundation of a nation. It hinders
administration from completing its task. Corruption is the root cause of this problem that our
country faces. Though there are many anti-corruption agencies in India, most of these anti-
corruption agencies are hardly independent. Even the CBI has been termed as a “caged
parrot” and “its master’s voice” by the Supreme Court of India.

Many of these agencies are only advisory bodies with no effective powers to deal with this
evil of corruption and their advice is rarely followed. There also exists the problem of internal
transparency and accountability. Moreover, there is not any effective and separate mechanism
to maintain checks on such agencies.

An independent institution of Lokpal and Lokayukta has been a landmark move in the history
of Indian polity which offered a solution to the never-ending menace of corruption. It
provides a powerful and effective measure to counter corruption at all levels of the
government.

The The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 mandated for the establishment of Lokpal at the
Union level and Lokayukta at the State level. Lokpal and Lokayuktas are statutory bodies and
these do not have any constitutional status. These institutions perform the function and role of
an “Ombudsman” (an official appointed to investigate individuals’ complaints against a
company or organization, especially a public authority). They inquire into allegations of
corruption against certain public bodies/organizations and for other related matters.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this research is to understand the statute “The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act,
2013” and analyse it. The various aspects revolving around this topic and the provisions
related to it are to be researched and analysed. The researcher tried to cover every detail
regarding the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act and tried to present every aspect related to it.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS/HYPOTESIS

The topic of the research is complicated and full of intricacies, so the researcher has decided
to frame certain research questions, which at the end of the research, hope to end with certain
conclusions. These research questions are:
1- What is the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013?

2- What are the aspects dealt in this statute?

3- How this statute is introduced in

India? 4- What are the features of this

statute?

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Doctrinal method of research has been used by the researcher for completion of the research.
It refers to that method of research where the researcher takes the principles, facts and figures
or truth laid down by authoritative and credible sources to be true and thereby, incorporates it
into his research.

Textbooks pertaining to the given topic have been referred to by the researcher. The other
major source of information used for the research by the researcher was the internet. The
accessibility to technology enabled the researcher to access relevant facts and thereby,
provided the researcher with a wide scope of research material. Various articles containing
the topic of research has been taken into account which simplified the task of the researcher
and enabled the researcher to understand the topic in a lucid manner.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

The story of the Lokpal and the Lokayukta has a long story. Lokpal and Lokayukta is not
Indian origin concept. The concept of ombudsman originated in 1809 with the official
inauguration of the institution of Ombudsman in Sweden. Later in the 20th century, after the
Second World War, the institution of ombudsman developed and grew most significantly.
Countries like New Zealand and Norway also adopted the system of ombudsman in the year
1962. This system proved extremely significant in spreading the concept of ombudsman to
other countries across the globe.

Great Britain adopted the institution of the Ombudsman in the year 1967, on the
recommendations of the Whyatt Report of 1961. Through the adoption of such a system,
Great Britain became the first eminent nation in the democratic world to have such an anti-
corruption institution. After great Britain, Guyana emerged as the first developing nation to
adopt the concept of the ombudsman in the year 1966. Subsequently, this concept was further
adopted by Mauritius, Singapore, Malaysia, and India as well.1

In India, the former law minister Ashok Kumar Sen became the first Indian to propose the
concept of constitutional Ombudsman in Parliament in the early 1960s. Further, Dr. L. M.
Singhvi coined the term Lokpal and Lokayukta. Later in the year 1966, the First
Administrative Reform Commission passed recommendations regarding the setting up of two
independent authorities at the central and at the state level. According to the commission’s
recommendation, the two independent authorities were appointed to look into complaints
against public functionaries, including members of Parliament as well.

After the recommendations from the commission, the Lokpal bill was passed in Lok Sabha in
1968 but lapsed due to the dissolution of Lok Sabha. Since then, the bill was introduced many
times in Lok Sabha but has lapsed. Till 2011 as many as eight attempts were made to pass the
Bill, but each of them failed.2

Before 2011, a commission, headed by M.N. Venkatachaliah, was also set up, in the year
2002 to review the working of the Constitution. This Commission recommended the
appointment of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas. The commission also recommended that the
Prime Minister ought to be kept out of the ambit of the Lokpal. Later in 2005, the Second
Administrative Reforms Commission chaired by Veerappa Moily came up with the
recommendation that the office of Lokpal needs to be established without delay.

Though all these recommendations were never given the due preference, the government in
2011 formed a Group of Ministers, chaired by the former President Pranab Mukherjee. These
groups of ministers worked to examine the proposal of a Lokpal Bill and to suggest measures
to tackle corruption.3

Not only the administration and the government but even the people of India felt the need for
such a system to be introduced into the Indian governance system. India rose into a
nationwide protest for Lokpal. The “India Against Corruption” movement was led by Anna

1
See, ‘Lokpal’, available at: http://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-50-lokpal.html.
2
Dr. Madhubrata Mohanty (2018), “The Lokpal Act, 2013 - Still Waiting for the Sunrise”, available at:
http://www.scconline.com.
3
Id.
Hazare to exert pressure on the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the
Centre.4

The protests and the movement resulted in the passing of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill,
2013, in both the Houses of Parliament. The bill received assent from President on 1 January
2014 and came into force on 16 January 2014 under the name “The Lokpal and Lokayukta
Act 2013”.5

NEED FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LOKPAL

When the question of governance comes, the possibilities of mis-governance by the rulers
become more visible. The need for the establishment of any institute always depends upon a
specific and pertinent cause. Likewise, the need for establishment of the institute of Lokpal is
the outcome of the issue of rampant growth of corruption in almost every sphere. It is not that
the evil of corruption is of recent origin; rather it was as old as governance.6

Kautilya in his Arthashastra rightly observes that for those who guard the treasury the
temptation to be dishonest is almost a natural instinct. He says:

“Just as it is impossible not to taste the honey or the poison that finds itself at the tip of the
tongue, so it is impossible for a government servant not to eat up at least a bit of the king's
revenue. Just as fish moving under water cannot possibly be found out either as drinking or
not drinking water, so government servants employed in the government work cannot be
found out while taking money for themselves.”

Corruption in India has been a problem ever since the country had been having a multi-
layered administration by Ministers, Administrative Chiefs and Officers. The problem of
corruption in ancient India, coupled with bribery, kept infesting the society more and more in
an increasing rate. This is quite clear from the way the contemporary writers like
Kshemendra and Kalhana, who lived in 990-1065 BC, have condemned the government
officials, as well as other employees of different levels, in their celebrated works.
Kshemendra has advised the king to remove all the ministers, generals, officials and priests
from office with immediate effect, who were either taking bribes themselves or have been

4
See, “The History of Lokpal Bill”, available at: https://pratikraj007.wordpress.com/anna-hazare-some-
facts/lokpal-bill/
5
See, “The need for Lokpal in our country: All there is to know about the Bill to fight corruption”, available at:
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/need-for-lokpal-bill-against-
corruption1294738-2018-07-24.
6
Supra note 5.
indulging in corruption in some other way. Yet another work by Kshemendra, called
Narmamala, depicts corruption bribery spreading fast like rampant maladies. He also found
an answer to the much discussed question how to stop corruption in India of his time; he has
explicitly addressed the contemporary intelligentsia to step forward and shoulder the
responsibility of purging their folks.7

THE LOKPAL AND LOKAYUKTAS ACT, 2013

After the success of a longstanding movement, finally the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013
was passed by Indian Parliament in December 2013 and received the Presidential assent on 1-
1-2014.

As sought for, the Act aimed at the prevention and control of corruption by setting up of an
independent and impartial body at the central level named as the “Lokpal” and at the State
level as the Lokayukta.8 The institution of Lokpal would receive complaints relating to
corruption against public servants from most of the categories within and outside India. The
extent of the Act is to the whole of India, including Jammu and Kashmir.

SALIENT FEATURES
 The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013 came into effect in India on 16th January
2014. The Act was found to be applicable even to Jammu and Kashmir. The Act
sought to set up a Lokpal that would serve as an active vigil and monitor any
malpractices of any civil servant or governmental organisations.
 The set-up of Lokpal consists of eight members, fifty per cent of whom must have
some legal background. The other fifty per cent of the aforementioned body is
composed of the minority spheres of society, for instance, ST, SC, OBC, and women.
The Act also provides for certain parameters that have to be followed during the
process of appointment of members and the Chairperson of the Lokpal. To elucidate,
the Act prohibits the appointment of a former convict as the Chairperson of the body.
 It is interesting to note that the expenditure of the body is taken care of through the
Consolidated Fund of India.
 The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013 has also mentioned that the Lokpal has the
power to set up an Inquiry Committee, which would set forth a preliminary

7
See, Justice Shri P.B. Gajendragadkar in his analysis on the “Role of Administration in a Democratic Welfare
State.”
8
Supra note 1.
 investigation when there is a corruption allegation against any public servant. The Act
has also mandated that the Lokpal would be equipped with officers and workers from
various ministries to facilitate the process of investigation. The Lokpal has the
authority to extend its power over the Prime Minister, Members of Parliament, and
the Central Government. The jurisdiction extends even over the government officials,
who are posted abroad.
 The said Act also looks into the aspect of confiscation and seizure of wrongfully
gained assets, though the route of surreptitious, corrupt practices. The Act additionally
mandates the members of Lokpal to declare their assets before joining the board.
 Additionally, the aforementioned Act also mandates the Central Government to set up
special courts to ensure expedient disposal of cases. However, the Act does not
authorise Lokpal to look into any complaints concerning the chairperson or any
member of the body. That is, the members of the statutory body can be removed on
grounds of malpractices by the President.
 It is interesting to note that religious bodies that collect money from the public come
under the purview of this Act.
 In addition to Lokpal, the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013 has recommended the
establishment of Lokayuktas at the state level to combat the menace of corruption.
 The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013 also provides a provision wherein, any person
who files a false and malicious complaint against a public servant is subjected to
imprisonment of one year and a heavy fine of Rs. 1 Lakh.
 Even though the Act attempts to unveil the malpractices of various public servants,
the Act also attempts to bolster the goodwill of the loyal and honest public servants.

LOKPAL AND LOKAYUKTA AMENDMENT ACT, 2016

After the introduction of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013, a bill was passed by Parliament
in July 2016 which amended the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013. This amendment enabled
the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha to become a member of the
selection committee in the absence of a recognized Leader of Opposition.9
This bill also amended Section 44 of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013. Section 44 of the
Act dealt with the provisions of furnishing of details of assets and liabilities, within 30 days
of joining the government service, of any public servant. This amendment replaced the time

9
See, “The Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill, 2016”, https://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-lokpal-
and-lokayuktas-bill-2016-4354.
limit of 30 days. It stated that the public servants will make a declaration of their assets and
liabilities in the form and manner as prescribed by the government.
In the case where any non-governmental organization receives funds of more than Rs. 1 crore
from government or receives foreign funding of more than Rs. 10 lakh then the assets of the
trustees and board members were to be disclosed to the Lokpal. The bill provided an
extension to the time limit given to trustees and board members to declare their assets and
those of their spouses.10

ANALYSIS

Four years have already been passed since the passing of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act,
2014, but still it is not implemented. India is still waiting to see its first Lokpal. These four
years of Government under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) banner, which has
come to power with a massive mandate to push growth and fight against corruption, is not
taking any effective step to implement the law. Regarding non-appointment of the Lokpal,
the Government's contention is that a search committee could not be formed as there was no
leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha. Justifying its stand by giving a very shocking
explanation, the Government instead of urgently sorting out the limited issue of leader of
opposition introduced a 10 page amendment to the Act in December 2014. 11 The matter
subsequently moved to a parliamentary panel. Previously, while the present party in power
was in opposition, it has always emphasised more on establishment of a strong and
independent Lokpal, whereas now being in power, the party is not only trying to dilute the
law, but also delaying its enforcement.

The Government's strong belief is that it is performing well instead of having a Lokpal
Institution. “Corruption had eaten away our country like termites. So if I have stopped so
much corruption, there will of course be many who will curse me. Only those who looted the
nation are not enthused by this Government,” said the Prime Minister, while giving speech in
the completion of second year celebration of his Government. The Prime Minister's remarks
come just days after the Supreme Court questioned why his Government had not appointed
anyone as Lokpal. “What is holding you back? You cannot sit over it,” the court asked the
Government, while seeking to know the steps taken for the appointment. The court was
hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by NGO Common Cause that alleged that the

10
Id.
11
See, available at: https://www.hindustantimes.com/pune-news/lokpal-act-needs-public-pressure/story-
u1C0ClrSRdGy3ok5BeNRdL.html.
Government and other parties were dragging feet. In 2002 the Supreme Court had directed
the Government to appoint a Lokpal to bring an end to the commission of a scam each day.
Recently, while asked by the Supreme Court to the Centre regarding the steps taken by it to
implement the Act, the Government informed the Supreme Court that it has appointed Mukul
Rohatgi, former Attorney General of India to the post of “eminent jurist” of the Lokpal
Selection Committee which post remained vacant since the demise of Senior Advocate P.P.
Rao last year and is going to take necessary steps for appointment of the Lokpal.12

As per the current ranking of the Transparency International’s global corruption index, India
stands on 81. At this point of time, one cannot say that the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2014
would be the best law India needs to check corruption. 13 Still the hope for having a better
future could not be ruled out, which is possible only when the law would be implemented in
its proper perspective.

CONCLUSION

The institution of Lokpal has been a land mark move in the history of Indian polity, the
Lokpal and Lokayukta act, 2013 has offered a productive solution to combat the never ending
menace of corruption.

The institution of Lokpal has tried to bring a much needed change in the battle against
corruption in the administrative structure of India but at the same time there are loopholes
and lacunae which need to be corrected. It is not free from political influence as the
appointing committee itself consist of parliamentarians. So, an appointment can easily be
manipulated. Further, the act provides no concrete immunity to the whistle blowers. The
provision for initiation of inquiry against the complainant if the accused is found innocent
will only discourage people from complaining. Also, there is no fool-proof way to determine
whether the person who is appointed as the Lokpal will remain honest throughout.

12
Supra note 2.
13
See, available at: https://www.firstpost.com/india/parliament-panel-slams-modi-govt-not-implementing-
lokpal-2217312.html.

10
REFERENCES

C.K Takwani (2018), “Lectures in Administrative Law”, 6th Edition, Eastern Book
Company.

Dr. Madhubrata Mohanty (2018), “The Lokpal Act, 2013 - Still Waiting for the Sunrise”.

I.P. Massey (2017), “Administrative Law”, 9th Edition, Eastern Book Company.

M P Jain & S N Jains (2017), “M P Jain & S N Jain’s Principles of Administrative Law”, 7th
Edition, Lexis Nexis.

http://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-50-lokpal.html

https://pratikraj007.wordpress.com/anna-hazare-some-facts/lokpal-bill/

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/131217/news-current-affairs/article/salient-features-
lokpal-bill

https://www.hindustantimes.com/pune-news/lokpal-act-needs-public-pressure/story-
u1C0ClrSRdGy3ok5BeNRdL.html

https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/need-for-lokpal-bill-
against-corruption-1294738-2018-07-24

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/salient-features-of-lokpal-lokayuktas-
bill/article5474256.ece