Bill suggests Lokpal will be a nine-member constitutional body

New Delhi, December 21, 2011 | UPDATED 13:18 IST

Bill suggests Lokpal will be a nine-member constitutional body

Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal.

Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare with Arvind Kejriwal.


After days of intense drafting and redrafting, it took the Cabinet just 70 minutes to clear the Lokpal Bill. It would most likely be tabled in Parliament on Thursday.

According to sources, the final draft has ignored several key issues raised by Team Anna. That sets the stage for the third round of war between the government and the civil society advocating a strong Lokpal.

The Lokpal would be a nine-member constitutional body with a former chief justice, a Supreme Court judge or an eminent person as its chairman.

Lokpal would be selected by a four-member panel comprising the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the chief justice of India (CJI).

The Prime Minister would come under the purview of Lokpal, but with certain riders.

In a major snub to Team Anna, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been kept out of the anti-corruption legislation. The CBI director, however, would be selected by the Prime Minister, leader of Opposition and the CJI or an SC judge.

The Lokpal cannot initiate any inquiry suo motu, but can only respond to a complaint. Also, the watchdog would only have a prosecution department but not an investigation wing.

In yet another snub to Team Anna, the only top bureaucrats would come under Lokpal and not group C and D employees. Their cases would be supervised by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), which in turn would file a report with the Lokpal.

Finally, the draft proposes 50 per cent reservation for SC/ST, OBCs, minorities and women.

Talking about the Lokpal Bill, Law Minister Salman Khurshid said, "We are sensitive enough to include the suggestions from all sections of the society. We are thankful to Anna for his suggestion. It is because of his support that we were able to make a strong Lokpal Bill. We give him credit for that but we cannot help it if he doesn't want to acknowledge that."
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