It said the appointment of Director of Investigation and Prosecution of two top personnel is yet to be made to look into the complaints of corruption and prosecute the accused public servants.
It said the appointment of Director of Investigation and Prosecution of two top personnel is yet to be made to look into the complaints of corruption and prosecute the accused public servants.
According to an RTI reply by the Anti-Corruption Ombudsman, the Lokpal has failed to grant prosecution sanction to public servants accused of corruption since its formation nearly three years ago.
It said the appointment of Director of Investigation and Prosecution of two top personnel is yet to be made to look into the complaints of corruption and prosecute the accused public servants.
“The government was requested to provide a panel for appointment of Director of Investigation and Director of Prosecution,” the Lokpal said in response to the RTI application.
Formed after several agitations demanding its constitution, the Lokpal is the apex body to investigate and investigate complaints of corruption against public functionaries and it started functioning with the appointment of its chairman and members on March 27, 2019. Gave. “Zero” was the response when the Lokpal was asked to provide details of the prosecution approved, recommended or proposed by it for public servants accused of corruption.
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 states that for the purpose of prosecuting public servants, the Lokpal shall constitute a prosecution wing under the chairmanship of the Director of Prosecution.
It states that “there shall be a Director of Investigation and a Director of Prosecution not below the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India or equivalent, to be appointed by the Chairman from a panel of names sent by the Central Government”.
The Director of Prosecution, after being so directed by the Ombudsman, shall register a case before the Special Court as per the findings of the inquiry report and take all necessary steps with respect to the prosecution of public servants in respect of any punishable offence. Under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, the law states.
The Lokpal shall constitute an investigation wing under the chairmanship of the Director of Inquiry for the purpose of conducting preliminary inquiry into any offense allegedly committed by a public servant punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 in accordance with law.
“Provided that until the Inquiry Wing is constituted by the Lokpal, the Central Government shall provide from its Ministries or Departments such number of officers and other employees as may be necessary by the Lokpal for conducting preliminary inquiry under this Act. “It said.
President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose as the chairman of the Lokpal on March 23, 2019.
Eight members of the Lokpal, four judicial and the remaining non-judicial, were administered the oath of office by Justice Ghosh on March 27 of the same year. At present, the post of two judicial members in the Lokpal is vacant. The Lokpal has received 4,244 complaints of corruption between April 2021 and January 31, 2022, a jump of over 80% from 2020-21. It had received 1,427 complaints during the financial year 2019-20.
“During the financial year 2021-22 (up to January 31, 2022), a total of 4,244 complaints (including format and non-format) have been received online/offline and through email,” the Ombudsman had said. A total of 2,355 complaints, including format and non-format, were received online or offline and through email during 2020-21. The government had in March 2020 issued a format for filing complaints of corruption in the Lokpal against public servants. The Lokpal refused to disclose the details of the alleged corrupt officials, saying they fall under “third party information”.
“The name and designation cannot be disclosed as they are covered by third party information,” it said.