Saturday, August 20, 2011

Lokpal Vs Jan lokpal, The major differences between the government’s Lokpal Bill 2011 and the Jan Lokpal Bill



The streets are witnessing a demand that the government’s Lokpal Bill be replaced by the Jan Lokpal Bill (JLP) as drafted by the team lead by Anna Hazare.  There are several significant differences between the two bills.  In this note, we describe the some of these differences.

First, there is a divergence on the jurisdiction of the Lokpal.  Both bills include ministers, MPs for any action outside Parliament, and Group A officers (and equivalent) of the government.  The government bill includes the prime minister after he demits office whereas the JLP includes a sitting prime minister.  The JLP includes any act of an MP in respect of a speech or vote in Parliament (which is now protected by Article 105 of the Constitution).  The JLP includes judges; the government bill excludes them.  The JLP includes all government officials, while the government bill does not include junior (below Group A) officials.  The government bill also includes officers of NGOs who receive government funds or any funds from the public; JLP does not cover NGOs.

Second, the two Bills differ on the composition.  The government bill has a chairperson and upto 8 members; at least half the members must have a judicial background.  The JLP has a chairperson and 10 members, of which 4 have a judicial background.

Third, the process of selecting the Lokpal members is different.  The JLP has a two stage process.  A search committee will shortlist potential candidates.  The search committee will have 10 members; five of these would have retired as Chief Justice of India, Chief Election Commissioner or Comptroller and Auditor General; they will select the other five from civil society.   The Lokpal chairperson and members will be selected from this shortlist by a selection committee.  The selection committee consists of the prime minister, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, two supreme court judges, two high court chief justices, the chief election commissioner, the comptroller and auditor general, and all previous Lokpal chairpersons.
The government bill has a simpler process.  The selection will be made by a committee consisting of the prime minister, the leaders of opposition in both Houses of Parliament, a supreme court judge, a high court chief justice, an eminent jurist, and an eminent person in public life.  The selection committee may, at its discretion, appoint a search committee to shortlist candidates.

Fourth, there are some differences in the qualifications of a member of the Lokpal.  The JLP requires a judicial member to have held judicial office for 10 years or been a high court or supreme court advocate for 15 years.  The government bill requires the judicial member to be a supreme court judge or a high court chief justice.  For other members, the government bill requires at least 25 years experience in anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance or finance.  The JLP has a lower age limit of 45 years, and disqualifies anyone who has been in government service in the previous two years.

Fifth, the process for removal of Lokpal members is different.  The government bill permits the president to make a reference to the Supreme Court for an inquiry, followed by removal if the member is found to be biased or corrupt.  The reference may be made by the president (a) on his own, (a) on a petition signed by 100 MPs, or (c) on a petition by a citizen if the President is then satisfied that it should be referred.  The President may also remove any member for insolvency, infirmity of mind or body, or engaging in paid employment.

The JLP has a different process. The process starts with a complaint by any person to the Supreme Court.  If the court finds misbehaviour, infirmity of mind or body, insolvency or paid employment, it may recommend his removal to the President.

Sixth, the offences covered by the Bills vary.  The government bill deals only with offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.  The JLP, in addition, includes offences by public servants under the Indian Penal Code, victimization of whistleblowers and repeated violation of citizen’s charter.

Seventh, the government bill provides for an investigation wing under the Lokpal.  The JLP states that the CBI will be under the Lokpal while investigating corruption cases.

Eighth, the government bill provides for a prosecution wing of the Lokpal.  In the JLP, the CBI’s prosecution wing will conduct this function.

Ninth, the process for prosecution is different.  In the government bill, the Lokpal may initiate prosecution in a special court.  A copy of the report is to be sent to the competent authority.  No prior sanction is required.  In the JLP, prosecution of the prime minister, ministers, MPs and judges of supreme court and high courts may be initiated only with the permission of a 7-judge bench of the Lokpal.

Tenth, the JLP deals with grievance redressal of citizens, in addition to the process for prosecuting corruption cases.  It requires every public authority to publish citizen’s charters listing its commitments to citizens.  The government bill does not deal with grievance redressal.
Given the widespread media coverage and public discussions, it is important that citizens understand the differences and nuances.  This may be a good opportunity to enact a law which includes the better provisions of each of these two bills.
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Team Anna Hazare, Jan Lokpal














Anna Hazare is a 74 years old gentleman but his enthusiasm, zeal and energy can put the youth in their 20s to shame.

His crusade against corruption has brought out the entire country [except the "cyskics" (cynics, skeptics and critics all rolled into one)] on the streets. While Anna Hazare remains the man of the moment, there's an entire dedicated team which works with him and whose members' full-time profession is activism. Then there are also dedicated people who remain behind the scenes and take care of the social media campaigning, technical stuff, logistics etc.

Let's take a look at the front-bench members of the Jan Lokpal movement:


                                                               Arvind Kejriwal


 

Recipient of the prestigious awarded Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006, Kejriwal has emerged as a true “youth icon” during the last few months. He was born in Hissar, Haryana in 1968, and graduated from IIT Kharagpur as a Mechanical engineer in 1989.Kejriwal joined Tata Steel after his graduation from IIT Kharagpur. After quitting his job with Tata Steel Kejriwal joined the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) in 1995 and worked as an Additional Commissioner of Income Tax in Delhi.In January 2000, he took a sabbatical from work and founded Parivartan - a Delhi based citizens’ movement which works on ensuring a just, transparent and accountable governance. Thereafter, in February 2006, he resigned from the job, to work full-time at 'Parivartan'.Arvind Kejriwal was always concerned about corruption and the passivity of the people. After quitting his job , he took time off to work with the Missionaries of Charity and the Ramakrishna Mission in eastern and northeastern India. He was also instrumental in spreading awareness about the passing of the Right to Information (RTI) act.

In the ongoing movement for Jan Lokpal, Arvind is considered a key figure along with Anna Hazare. People who work with him sings songs in the praise of his intelligence, which, they say, is “razor-sharp”.

                                                                    Kiran Bedi


 

First Indian IPS officer(Female), Kiran Bedi has always been known as a woman of substance and will power. A close associate of Anna, she has played an active role in the entire Jan Lokpal movement. She began her career as a Lecturer in Political Science (1970-72) at Khalsa College for Women, Amritsar. In July 1972, she joined the Indian Police Service. While in the police, she carried out several reforms. She also served as Director General of India's Bureau of Police Research and Development.

In 2007, she took voluntary retirement to undertake newer tasks in life. After retirement, Kiran Bedi launched a new website, www.saferindia.com which aimed at helping people whose complaints were not accepted by the local police. This project is undertaken by the non-profit, voluntary and non-government organization she founded, the India Vision Foundation. Kiran is a Ph.D. in Social Sciences from the Department of Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.

                                                                

                                                                Prashant Bhushan


Based in Noida, Prashant Bhushan (born 1956) is an Indian lawyer and social activist. He is the son of eminent lawyer Shanti Bhushan. In his career spanning 15 years he has worked on around 500 PILs (Public interest Litigation). He has been a rigorous campaigner of judicial reforms. He is a member of the committee constituted in April 2011 for the Jan Lokpal bill. He is said to be a man of steel who doesn't thinks twice before exposing the wrongdoings in the courts.


Bhushan was the member of the committee which drafted the Jan Lokpal Bill. He has been sharply critical of the government's version of the Lokpal calling it “ineffective” and “useless”.

                                                                     Shanti Bhushan


Not many would know that the Lokpal Bill was the brainchild of Shanti Bhushan who conceived it while being the law minister in the Morarji Desai government in 1977. Bhushan was an active member of the Congress (O) party (different from the Indian National Congress) and later the Janata Party. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 14 July 1977 to 2 April 1980 and the Union Law minister in the Morarji Desai ministry from 1977 to 1979. He joined the Bhartiya Janata Party in 1980. In 1986, he resigned from BJP after the party acted against his advice over an election petition.


Along with his son, he has been actively involved in bringing judicial reforms. He fought (for his client) many legal cases against Indira Gandhi. Shanti Bhushan is the co-chairman of the of the joint committee constituted in April 2011 for the Jan Lokpal Bill.

                                                                 Manish Sisodia 


 

Manish Sisodia (born 5 January 1972) is an Indian social activist was a news producer at Zee News, Manish is an active RTI activist. He is the co-founder of Kabir and  Public Cause Research Foundation.He is a member of the committee constituted in April 2011 for the Jan Lokpal bill.

                                                    

                                                                   Akhil Gogoi








Akhil Gogoi came to national attention after he was awarded the Shanmugam Manjunath Integrity Award in 2008 for his relentless fight against corruption and attempts to bring transparency in government functionings.In 2010, he was awarded the national Right to Information (RTI) Award by Public Cause Research Foundation (PCRF) for his for his role in exposing the 1.25 crore scam in Sampoorna Gram Rozgar Yojna (SGRY) and Rs 60 lakh scam in the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) in Golaghat district of Assam by using the RTI Act.
Akhil Gogoi attended Cotton College, Guwahati in English literature in 1993-1996. He was the general secretary of the students union United Revolutionary Movement Council of Assam(URMCA) devoted himself as an editor of Notun padatik, an independent Marxist journal published in Assamese, along with [Hiren Gogoi lives in Golaghat district of Assam.





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