Lokpal is just a seed; has to be nurtured

Exclusive Interview/ Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, chairperson, lokpal

56-Shanti-Bhushan Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose

Q/How ready is the lokpal to begin work?

A/The lokpal will work within the four corners of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013. The rules for carrying out its functions and the format in which the complaints have to be made to the lokpal are almost ready and will soon be notified. Any complaint will have to be disposed of within a year. We will be strict regarding that.

Q/Has the lokpal started receiving complaints?

A/We have received 1,065 complaints (till September end). We have dealt with all the complaints. All nine members scrutinised the complaints.

Q/What kind of complaints have you received?

A/Most of the complaints are about pension or salary or promotion. But the lokpal does not have the jurisdiction to look into these grievances. However, we are informing people that there is a different process for dealing with those.

We have also been receiving calls from people. Once, a person who had lost his job called. He had a contractual job, which he had lost 14 years ago. I could not help him, but I lent him an ear. We have to deal with people with a bit of love and affection. We want to take people with us. The lokpal will be a people-friendly institution.

Q/Going by the nature of the complaints received, is there a lack of awareness on the lokpal?

A/Yes. The common man may not be aware of the Act. But I feel these complaints are prompted more by the hope that the lokpal, which has come about after such a long wait, can help them.

Q/The format for filing complaints has not been notified yet.

A/The government has to prepare the format and notify it. My information is that it is almost done. It had to go through a process. (The government) is positive, and I am, [too]. I am happy that everybody is cooperating.

Q/Have you received any complaints that you felt you should have acted upon but could not since the complaint format has not been notified?

A/Yes, a few such matters were received by us.

Q/How soon will the lokpal get its own dedicated office?

A/We have found a premise in Delhi. In a month’s time, we would be functioning out of our new office.

Q/What is the status on staffing the lokpal?

A/The appointment of the staff has been sanctioned by the government. Staffing has been completed in part. We have to appoint joint secretary-level officers as directors of the inquiry and prosecution departments. A registrar has to be recruited. All the appointments will be done after thorough scrutiny. We want a very good team. So far, we are a team of more than 120 people.

Matters relating to officials will be referred to the Central Vigilance Commission, as per the act. We will take help from the Central Bureau of Investigation in investigating matters. But in such matters, the control will be with the lokpal. The CBI will report to us in those cases.

Q/How soon can the lokpal begin acting on complaints?

A/As soon as the format for complaints is notified, we can start. The complaints have to be under the ambit of the Prevention of Corruption Act. As of now, in matters where we felt the lokpal could have acted, we have asked the complainants to wait for the format to be notified, and also to provide all necessary documents.

Q/Have you faced any obstacles yet?

A/There are no obstacles. The government is extending all help. A budget of Rs100 crore was sanctioned, from which we are meeting our expenses.

Q/Critics say it has been eight months since the lokpal was formed, but it has not got cracking yet.

All I can say is that they should visit our website to get an idea of what we are doing. I do not wish to get into any confrontation.

Q/The 2018 amendment in the Prevention of Corruption Act makes it necessary to get the government’s sanction to register an FIR and begin a preliminary inquiry. Will it affect the lokpal’s functioning?

A/I do not think so. Whether sanction is required or not, that should be tested if and when the occasion so arises. It will be our endeavour to show that if the matter comes under the Prevention of Corruption Act and if the lokpal has jurisdiction, we will not fail to act.

I am extremely positive, just as I am a very positive person in my life, that the institution will work. All my fellow members are also positive and eager to do justice.

Q/Can the lokpal help reduce corruption?

A/It is the wish of the people that the country should be corruption-free. However, for this, the mindset has to change. We will hold interactions and seminars, where we expect to have discussions on these issues. We are just a seed, a beginning. This movement has to be nurtured.

Q/How challenging will it be to make people trust that the high and mighty can be brought to book?

A/As judges, we have expressed in the courts for a long time our commitment to the law and made it clear that we will not compromise on anything. There is no question of making any compromises in our function as an anti-corruption ombudsman.

The judge’s work is to come to the answer after going through the facts placed before the court. We will conduct ourselves in the same way here. There are eight members in the lokpal [apart from the chairperson]. Four benches will be constituted. We will function in a very court-like manner.

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