Former Chief Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose Appointed India’s First Lokpal

Guwahati: Former Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India Pinaki Chandra Ghose has been appointed as the country’s first Lokpal or can be said as the anti-corruption ombudsman.

The appointment of Ghose has been cleared by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind.

The Communique issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan stated that former Chief Justices Dilip B Bhosale, Pradip Kumar Mohanty, Abhilasha Kumari besides sitting Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court Ajay Kumar Tripathi have been appointed as the judicial members in the anti-corruption ombudsman.

The communiqué further stated that the first woman chief of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Archana Ramasundaram, ex-Maharashtra chief secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, former IRS officer Mahender Singh and Gujarat cadre ex-IAS officer Indrajeet Prasad Gautam have been appointed as non-judicial members of the body.

The Communique further read as, the above newly appointed members will take effect from the dates they assume charges of their respective offices.The selection was made weeks after the February-end deadline set by the apex court.

The selection committee led by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has finalised and recommended the name of Justice Ghose’s name to be appointed as the Lokpal.

The other panelists to choose the candidates include the Lok Sabha speaker, leader of the opposition in the lower house, the Chief Justice of India or any judge of the Supreme Court he nominates, and an eminent jurist who could be nominated by the President or any other member.

Mukul Rohatgi, a former Attorney General has been nominated by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind as the ''eminent jurist''.

Justice Ghose was appointed as the judge of the Calcutta High Court in 1997 and elevated to the Supreme Court in 2013. As the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, he had convicted Sasikala, the live-in companion of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha, in a corruption case.

The Lokpal Act which was passed in 2013 involves the setting up of a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states to look into cases of corruption against certain categories of public servants.

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