OMBUDSMAN

MEANING OF OMBUDSMAN

It is difficult to define Ombudsman. It acts as an officer of Parliament whose main function is to provide protection to citizens against the misuse of administrative power by the executive while acting as an agent of Parliament.

The Ombudsman makes sense of an institution that basically has three main characteristics

He is an independent and independent authority of the legislature which supervises the administration
He listens to public complaints against government injustice and administration and investigates them.
He has the right to send investigation criticism and report of the legislature but does not have the authority to reverse administrative acts.

In terms of utility, Ombudsman is called the guard of administration or the guardian of an ordinary person.

DEVELOPMENT

To know its origins, we have to look at the pages of history when we look at the political situation in Europe, then we see that the people were plagued by autocratic rule, the faults of that rule were being reflected. There was a revolution in some countries, which was aimed at destroying administrative defects. It was first attempted in Sweden in 1809. The voice was first raised against the emperor and then against the administration, it was followed in 1920 in Finland, in 1955 in Denmark, and in 1962 in Norway and New Zealand. The name of this process was Ombudsman which literally means representative. Rawat has rightly said that some institution of Ombudsman or its equivalent will become an important tool of democratic governance of the whole world.

OMBUDSMAN IN INDIA

In India, the usefulness of the Ombudsman is the same as that of other countries. MC Setalvad in India referred to such an institution for the first time in 1962. The Administrative Reforms Commission has recommended the establishment of an institution like the Ombudsman, Lokpal, and Lokayukta. In 1969, following the recommendation of the Government of India, the Lokpal, and Lokayukta Bill, 1968 was introduced. But this attempt failed. A second attempt was made again in 1971 but it was also unsuccessful. The Janata Party government again introduced the Lokpal Bill, 1977 in Parliament, but that too could not pass, it was re-established once again in 1985, which was unsuccessful. In 1989, an attempt was made again, but that effort was not passed by the bill in Parliament. In 1996 and 1998 also the Lokpal Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha but it could not be passed. Then from then till 2011, there were talks about passing this bill 8 times. But due to a lack of proper knowledge about it, it was not passed, and even more important was not given by the government. In 2002, the matter arose that the Lokpal Bill should be passed and the Prime Minister should stay away from it because he has a lot of responsibility. In 2005, it was talked about being introduced again, but this time also this bill could not be passed. In 2011, the government formed a group of ministers headed by Pranab Mukherjee. There was a discussion about that, how can corruption be dealt with. And since then, better discussions started about passing this bill. In this, Anna Hazare, a social reformer and activist of India, had a big hand. He pressured the Government of India to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill by agitating.

The Lokpal Bill was passed in both Houses of Parliament in 2013 as both Lokpal and Lokayukta. After this, in the year 2016, the Lok Sabha agreed to amend the Lokpal Act and it was sent to a standing committee to review this bill. If, after passing this bill, 6 years after the passing of this year 2019, the first Lokpal was appointed in India. The term of the appointed Lokpal will be for 5 years to come. In this way, the Lokpal Bill was approved in India, and the first Lokpal was appointed. The first Lokpal of India is Pinaki Chandra Ghosh, a former judge of the Supreme Court.

SILENT FEATURES OF Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013

In this bill passed against corruption, it has been told that Lokpal will be appointed for this at the central level and Lokayukta will be appointed for this at the state level.

At the state level, states have to constitute a Lokayukta within a year at the beginning of this act.

Special courts will be set up to conduct trials in the cases referred by the Lokpal.

The Lokpal covers all types of public servants including the Prime Minister. If they come to know that corruption is going on against them somewhere, then Lokpal can start its investigation into this. Even if the investigation is being done by other agencies for this, they can start the investigation on their own. Armed forces do not come under the purview of Lokpal.

Although the Prime Minister has been given some exemptions in the Lokpal Bill. In fact, when the Prime Minister is accused of corruption, the Lokpal can take action, but for this, the consent of the other 8 members of the Lokpal is also necessary. There is one thing in this, that in some things the Lokpal cannot include the Prime Minister in it, such as in matters related to international relations, internal or external security, public order, atomic energy, and space, etc. In all these cases the Prime Minister is exempted. This makes sense, that if the issue of Rafael's helicopter is coming up recently, then the Lokpal will not have the power to investigate these matters.

Apart from this, if any complaint against any officer of Lokpal or Lokayukta comes to inquiry and that charge is found to be true, then the officer will be dismissed within 2 months.

It has been made mandatory in the Lokpal Bill, that whoever will be a public servant, will have to declare their entire family, land and property, and their liabilities in advance.

The Act also ensures that public servants who work as whistleblowers are protected in this. That is, if a citizen's government work or any other such work is not done within the stipulated time, then he can complain to the Lokpal. The Lokpal in any government office can impose a financial penalty on the guilty officers and provide it to the complainant as compensation. Along with this, Lokpal also takes full responsibility for its security. In this way, a separate Whistle Blower Protection Act has been passed.

If the Lokpal dies during his tenure or he resigns from his post, the most senior member of the Lokpal in his place is asked to hold office until the appointment of the next Lokpal. Apart from this, if Lokpal is not present due to any work, then in his absence his place is also given to the most senior member of Lokpal.

[Eligibility criteria for Lokpal and its members as per Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013]

Eligibility criteria for Lokpal and its members as per Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013

The Lokpal is a body that has a chairperson i.e. the chairman and in addition to it, there are 8 other members. The following eligibility has been determined for the selection of the Lokpal President and its members –

It is necessary for the appointment of Lokpal as the President, Lokpal should either be a former Chief Justice of India or a former Judge of the Supreme Court.

Apart from this, those people can also be made the president of Lokpal, who is an innocent, honest, and reputed person with the best qualifications. In addition, they are also required to have a minimum of 25 years of specialized knowledge and expertise in certain categories. Those persons will be eligible to become the President of Lokpal. They can be related to some special categories of anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, insurance, and banking including finance and law and management.

The members of Lokpal are divided into 2 categories, out of which 50% are judicial members and 50% are SC / ST / OBC, minorities, and women. The judicial members of the Lokpal can be either a former Supreme Court Judge or a former Chief Justice of a High Court. Apart from this, there are other eligibility criteria for the other members who are for the Lokpal president.

The maximum age of a Lokpal should be 70 years, no candidate above this can be appointed as Lokpal.

FUNCTIONS OF OMBUDSMAN

1 Lokpal is an independent and independent authority of the legislature which supervises the administration.

2 . He listens to public complaints against administrative justice and administration and investigates them.

3. He has the right to send investigative criticism and report to the legislature but does not have the right to reverse administrative acts.

POWERS OF OMBUDSMAN

The ombudsman has the authority to investigate and deal with cases related to corruption against his public officials at the central government.

The Lokpal has the authority of any investigating agency including the CBI. If the CBI has investigated an accused of corruption and if there is something wrong with it, then the Lokpal can also investigate the investigation done by that agency. Also, they cannot be moved elsewhere without the permission of Lokpal.

A period of 6 months has been fixed for investigation in the case against corruption. Within 6 months, the investigation and examination will be completed, so that any corrupt politician, officer, or judge can be sent to jail as soon as possible. However, Lokpal or Lokayukta can allow an extension of 6 months at a time. But for the need for such an extension, a written application has to be given.

The Lokpal also has the power that if he comes to any wrong complaint, which is completely baseless, then the Lokpal can also impose a fine of up to Rs 2 lakh on the person or organization making the complaint.

Under this Act, if someone is accused of corruption and there is pending execution, the property of that person can also be confiscated.

In this way, the Lokpal has all these powers. Which they use to deal with serious issues like corruption.

IMPORTANCE

Lokpal is not the ultimate administrator. Being a parliamentary officer is independent of bureaucracy. Its power reduces the fear of misuse of administrative rigor. Their presence only has a detrimental effect on the administration in terms of the use of power.

Thus it is concluded that the establishment of an institution like Lokpal in India will benefit the country. Lokpal is the imperative of the modern state, its purpose is to make the administration clean and tidy. In a democracy, there is a relative limitation of the state's rights, and protection against the arbitrary acts of the government is available.

An institution like Lokpal is making it higher and its appointment is making a special contribution to the administration.