According to data provided by the Lokpal office to a parliamentary panel on the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), around 68% corruption complaints against public functionaries that landed with the Lokpal of India were disposed off without any action in the past four years.
Key findings
- Only three complaints were fully investigated, according to information provided by the Lokpal’s office to a parliamentary panel.
- It has not prosecuted even a single person accused of graft till date.
- Since 2019-20, the anti-corruption body received 8,703 complaints, out of which 5,981 complaints were disposed of.
- As many as 6,775 complaints were rejected for not being in the correct format. The office informed that only three complaints were fully investigated, and 36 complaints were at a preliminary stage.
- In 2022-23, as many as 2,760 complaints were received, out of which only 242 were in the prescribed format.
- On January 5, the Lokpal of India issued an order that henceforth, complaints received by the office of the Lokpal of India that were not in the prescribed form would not be entertained at any level.
- The Committee infers from the data provided by Lokpal that a large number of complaints are being disposed of on the ground that the complaint is not in the prescribed format.
- Lokpal has submitted to the Committee that it has not prosecuted even a single person accused of graft till date.
- It said that the Lokpal was established in an effort to promote clean and responsive governance and therefore, the Lokpal should act as an enabler rather than an inhibitor.
- The Committee recommends Lokpal not to reject genuine complaints merely on the technical ground that the complaint is not in the prescribed format.
About Lokpal
- The Lokpal of India is the country’s first anti-corruption body. It was instituted four years ago to investigate complaints against public functionaries, including the Prime Minister.
- The Lokpal is an independent statutory body established under Section 3 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.
- Upon the recommendation of the Selection Committee under section 4(1) of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, the President of India appoints the Chairperson and eight Members (including four judicial Members) by warrant under his/her hand and seal.
- Though the Act was passed in 2013, the country’s first Lokpal, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh, was appointed on March 19, 2019 along with eight other members.
- Justice Ghosh moved out of office in May 2022 after attaining 70 years of age and since then, Pradip Kumar Mohanty has been acting as the Chairperson of Lokpal.
- At present complaints sent by post, e-mail or delivered by hand are entertained by the Lokpal of India.
- In terms of Section 48 of the said Act, the Lokpal is required to present annually to the President a report on the work done by it, which is caused to be laid in both the Houses of the Parliament.
