The Union government has decided to amend the selection rules for the Lokpal following allegations of a flawed selection procedure.
Highly placed government sources told The Hindu that the rules framed under the Lokpal Act would be amended as per the report of a three-member committee constituted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In its report, the committee, headed by Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, submitted that the current selection rule was ultra vires and if implemented, the independence and impartiality of the selection process and ultimate appointment would be compromised.
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Sources added that the amendments would be carried out through executive orders to ensure that the Lokpal was put in place at the earliest.
Under the present rules, a search committee will shortlist a panel of candidates to be considered by a selection committee, headed by the Prime Minister, for appointment of the Chairperson and eight members of the Lokpal.
The Rohatgi committee has suggested reducing the number of the search committee from eight to seven. The committee would devise its own procedure in preparing a panel of names independently to be considered by the selection committee.
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The government would only render assistance to the search panel and would have no role in the selection. The rule requiring applicants to furnish a letter of recommendation from an eminent person would be deleted.
Faulting the selection process, Justice K.T. Thomas, who was chosen to head the search panel, and senior advocate Fali Nariman as its member, had opted out of the committee.
During the course of hearing on a writ petition from Common Cause challenging the present rules, the United Progressive Alliance government informed the Supreme Court that it had put the Lokpal selection process on hold. The NDA government undertook the exercise of amending the rules by constituting a committee.
The NDA government felt that the existing rules would deter deserving persons from coming forward to be appointed to the Lokpal.