On 10 December 2014, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, approved an amendment to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, to include the leader of the largest party in the Lok Sabha as a member of the Selection Committee whenever no Leader of Opposition is appointed in Lok Sabha (see the press release for this cabinet meeting here).
It is pertinent to point out that, recently, a similar amendment was made in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, to include the Leader of the largest party in the Lok Sabha as a member of the Selection Committee to select the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
It is noteworthy that Section 4(1) of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 (see the full Act here), lays down the constitution of a Selection Committee for recommending appointments to the positions of the Chairperson and Members of the Lokpal, and in its present form, it provides as under:
“4. (1) The Chairperson and Members shall be appointed by the President after obtaining the recommendations of a Selection Committee consisting of—
(a) the Prime Minister—Chairperson;
(b) the Speaker of the House of the People—Member;
(c) the Leader of Opposition in the House of the People—Member;
(d) the Chief Justice of India or a Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by him—Member;
(e) one eminent jurist, as recommended by the Chairperson and Members referred to in clauses (a) to (d) above, to be nominated by the President—Member.”
Unfortunately, when the aforesaid Lokpal Act was passed, it was not anticipated that there may perhaps be a situation when there would be no Leader of Opposition in the House of the People (i.e., Lok Sabha). And, this situation arose within about a year of the passing of the Lokpal Act in 2013. At present, in the 16th Lok Sabha, Congress party (Indian National Congress) is the largest opposition party, but it does not have the required number of 55 MPs to enable it to get its leader the position and status of Leader of Opposition.
At present, the Lokpal Act has not been implemented so far, and Lokpal has not been appointed till date. Though there are other reasons also, the main reason for delay in the implementation of the Lokpal Act is the fact that there is no Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha at present. The proposed amendment to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, which has now been approved by the Union Cabinet, will perhaps pave the way for appointment of the Chairperson and Members of the Lokpal in the near future.
This amendment Bill is likely to be introduced in the Parliament during the ongoing winter session of the Parliament. It is expected that this Bill will sail through the Parliament without much difficulty since Congress party, whose support is necessary for its passage in Rajya Sabha, is likely to support this Bill as its own leader (Mallikarjun Kharge) is likely to find place on the selection committee to select the Chairperson and Members of Lokpal.
