New Delhi: The Centre informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that it does not intend to take any immediate decision on the appointment of the chairperson and members of the Lokpal and no meeting has been scheduled on this, that makes it clear that the national ombudsman will only be appointed by the next government that will be formed after May 16.
With solicitor-general Mohan Parasaran making this submission, a bench headed by Justice R.M. Lodha said there was no need for any interim order on the PIL challenging the selection procedure for the Lokpal. The bench will now take up the matter on May 5.
The court was hearing a plea filed by NGO Common Cause seeking a stay on the entire selection process for appointment of the chairperson and members of the Lokpal, saying the government was going ahead with it despite the court being seized of the issue. The NGO had filed a fresh plea in which it questioned the selection process.
The PIL, filed through Prashant Bhushan, has sought a declaration that certain provisions of the rules are ultra vires of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, and also sought quashing of the entire selection process, alleging that it is “illegal, arbitrary” and violative of Article 14.
On April 1, the bench had sought a response from the Centre asking it to justify within four weeks the Search Committee (Consti-tution, Terms and Cond-itions of Appointment of Members and Manner of Selection of Panel of Names for Appointment of Chairperson and Members of Lokpal) Rules 2014, framed under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2014.
A bench headed by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam on Thursday upheld the validity of an amendment in the UP Lokayukta Act for fixing an eight-year tenure for the anti-corruption ombudsman.
