Former apex court judge Justice PC Ghose appointed India’s first Lokpal

New Delhi, March 19, Former Supreme Court judge Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose was Tuesday appointed as the country’s first Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman, according to an official order.

Former Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) chief Archana Ramasundaram, ex-Maharashtra Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, Mahender Singh and Indrajeet Prasad Gautam have been appointed as non-judicial members of Lokpal. Justices Dilip B Bhosale, Pradip Kumar Mohanty, Abhilasha Kumari and Ajay Kumar Tripathi have been appointed as judicial members in the anti-corruption ombudsman. These appointments were recommended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Selection Committee and approved by President Ram Nath Kovind. The Opposition parties have been accusing the Modi government of delaying the appointment of Lokpal.

Meanwhile, The Lokayukta selection committee in Odisha, headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, today finalized two members and recommended their names to the Governor for approval. The committee has unanimously finalized names of two members – one judicial and another non-judicial – out of five, informed panel member Narasingh Mishra soon after attending the meeting held at State Guest House this evening. Notably, former Chief Justice of Guwahati High Court Ajit Singh was appointed as the first Lokayukta of Odisha. The office of the anti-corruption watchdog will start functioning from April 8. A seven-member search committee — formed in December 2018 under the chairmanship of justice Amitava Roy – had suggested five names for the post of the Lokayukta chairperson and three names each for the five members in its report to the Chief Minister-led panel on January 9.

The committee had former Odisha DGP Gopal Nanda, ex-IAS officer Sanjiv Hota, former IAS officer Dr RN Bohidar, Dr Bidhu Bhusan Samal, Prof Snigdha Patnaik of XIMB and Vice Chancellor of National Law University, Bangalore, Dr Venkata Rao Rambhatla as its members. Odisha was the first state to pass the Lokayukta Bill on February 14, 2014, after the Lokpal Bill was cleared by Parliament in December, 2013.