4-member panel to appoint Delhi's Lokpal, proposes new Bill

New Delhi, Nov 30: The appointment of Lokpal will be carried out by a four-member selection committee headed by Chief Justice of Delhi High Court and he/she can be removed by the process of impeachment, a move that has invited criticism from former AAP members Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav.

Delhi Chief Minister, Leader of Opposition and Speaker of Legislative Assembly will be the other members of the selection committee.

The Delhi Janlokpal Bill 2015, which was introduced by the Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the Delhi Legislative Assembly today, prescribes that the Lieutenant Governor shall appoint a three-member body having one Chairperson and two members to be known as the Janlokpal.

Slamming the bill, Bhushan and Yadav criticised the proposed provisions for the appointment and removal of the Lokpal, saying that the government will have a say in both the appointment and removal of the ombudsman which will jeopardise the independent functioning of Lokpal.

Interestingly, amid turf-war between the Delhi government and Lt Governor, the recommendation of the Selection Committee will be binding on the latter.

"The recommendation of the Selection Committee shall be binding on the Lieutenant Governor who shall make the concerned appointment to the Janlokpal no later than thirty days from the date of receipt of the recommendation of the Selection Committee," Section 3 (iv) D of the Bill states.

The term of the Lokpal will be for a period of five-years. He can, however, be removed by a process of impeachment.

"The Chairperson or a Member of the Janlokpal shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the Lieutenant Governor passed after an address by the Legislative Assembly supported by a majority of the total membership of the Legislative Assembly and by a majority not less than two-third of the members," Section 6(i) of the Bill states.

PTI