Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013

Topic: Statutory, Regulatory and Quasi-judicial Bodies · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013 is the law passed by Parliament that set up the Lokpal, an independent anti-corruption watchdog (ombudsman) at the Union level. The Act also required every state to set up its own Lokayukta within one year [1]. It matters because, for the first time, the Prime Minister, Union ministers, MPs and central officials can face an inquiry into corruption by one independent body. This came after more than 40 years of failed Bills.

Explanation

Background: the ombudsman idea

• An ombudsman is an independent official who looks into people's complaints of maladministration. Maladministration means bad or unfair government work, such as corruption, delay, bias or misuse of power.
• Sweden (1809) had the first ombudsman. The idea spread across Scandinavia, then to New Zealand (1962) and the UK (1967).
• Lokpal means "protector of the people". Dr L.M. Singhvi coined the word in 1963.
• The First Administrative Reforms Commission (1966) was chaired by Morarji Desai. It suggested two tiers: a Lokpal for the Union and Lokayuktas for the states.

Composition, selection, term and removal

• Chairperson (s. 3): a serving or former Chief Justice of India, a serving or former Supreme Court judge, or an eminent person [1].
• Members: not more than 8 [1].
• 50% must be Judicial Members, meaning serving or former SC judges or High Court Chief Justices.
• At least 50% must come from SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities and women.

• Non-judicial members need 25 years' expertise in fields such as anti-corruption, vigilance, finance, law or management.

• Who cannot be appointed: an MP or MLA, a member of a panchayat or municipality, a person convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, a person dismissed from government service, anyone under 45, or anyone linked to a political party [1].

• Selection committee (s. 4). The President appoints members on its recommendation [1]:

Member	Role
Prime Minister	Chairperson
Speaker of the Lok Sabha	Member
Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha	Member
CJI, or an SC judge nominated by the CJI	Member
One eminent jurist, recommended by the four above and nominated by the President	Member

• Vacancy rule (s. 4(2)): an appointment is not invalid just because a seat on the committee is empty [1].
• Term (s. 6): 5 years or until age 70, whichever comes first [1].
• Removal (s. 37), step by step [1]: 1. At least 100 MPs sign a petition alleging misbehaviour. 2. The President sends the matter to the Supreme Court. 3. The SC holds an inquiry and reports. 4. The President orders removal. The President may suspend the person while the inquiry is going on.

Jurisdiction: whom the Lokpal covers (s. 14)

• The Prime Minister is covered, but with two shields [1]:
• Excluded subjects: no inquiry at all on international relations, external and internal security, public order, atomic energy and space.

• Special procedure: the full bench (Chairperson and all Members) must consider the complaint. At least two-thirds must approve the inquiry. The inquiry is held in camera (in private). If the complaint is dismissed, its records are never published.

• Union ministers, current and former [1].

• MPs, current and former. They cannot be charged for what they say or how they vote in the House, because Article 105 protects these acts.
• Group A and B officers of the Union. Group C and D staff are also covered, but their complaints go first to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) (s. 20) [1].
• Staff of bodies set up by a Central Act, or funded or controlled by the Centre [1].
• Societies and trusts that receive foreign contributions above ₹10 lakh a year under the FCRA 2010 [1].
• State officers: only with the state government's consent [1].
• Limits:
• Time bar (s. 53): no complaint made more than 7 years after the offence [1].
• The Lokpal cannot inquire into its own Chairperson or Members [1].

Powers and time limits

• Inquiry Wing (s. 11): led by a Director of Inquiry. It does preliminary inquiries (a first check of whether a complaint has substance) into offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 [1].
• Prosecution Wing (s. 12): led by a Director of Prosecution. It takes public servants' cases to court [1].
• Superintendence over the CBI (s. 25): the Lokpal supervises and directs the CBI in cases it refers. It cannot tell the CBI how to decide a case [1].
• Other powers:
• civil-court powers to summon people and demand documents
• provisional attachment (freezing) of corruption proceeds for up to 90 days
• Special Courts (s. 35), as many as the Lokpal recommends

• asset declarations (s. 44) by every public servant within 30 days of taking office [1]

• Time limits (s. 20) [1]:

Stage	Time limit
Report by the Inquiry Wing or agency	60 days
Preliminary inquiry	90 days, plus 90 more for recorded reasons
Investigation (e.g. by the CBI)	6 months, extendable by 6 months at a time
Trial in a Special Court (s. 35)	1 year, and at most 2 years in total

In the Constitution and practice

• Legal status: the Lokpal is a statutory body, which means it was created by an ordinary Act of Parliament and not by the Constitution. The law is Act No. 1 of 2014. The President gave assent on 1 January 2014 [1].
• The long road to the law:
• 1968: the first Lokpal Bill. The Lok Sabha passed it in 1969, but it lapsed when the House was dissolved.
• Bills came seven more times, the last in 2001. Each lapsed, except in 1985, when the Bill was withdrawn [3].
• 2011: the India Against Corruption movement put pressure on the government. On 8 April 2011, a Joint Drafting Committee was formed with five government nominees and five nominees of Anna Hazare [3].

• December 2013: Parliament passed the Act.

• The five-year delay (2014–19):

• After the 2014 election, no party had 10% of Lok Sabha seats, so there was no recognised LoP.

• Common Cause v. Union of India (2017): the Supreme Court held that the Act is workable as it stands. Because of the s. 4(2) vacancy rule, appointments can be made even without an LoP.

• Who has led it:

• First Chairperson: Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, appointed in March 2019.
• Current Chairperson: Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, who took the oath on 10 March 2024 [2].

• 2024: three members were sworn in, which brought the Lokpal to its full strength of nine, including the Chairperson [4].

• Record so far:

• The Inquiry and Prosecution Wings were set up only years after 2019. Until then, the Lokpal relied on staff lent by the government and on the CBI and CVC.
• Most complaints were rejected for not being in the prescribed format.
• Cash-for-query (2023–24): an MP was accused of taking money to ask questions in Parliament. The Lokpal referred the complaint to the CBI.

• January 2025: a Lokpal order said High Court judges fall under its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court stayed this order because judicial independence was at stake.

• Lokayuktas (s. 63): every state had to set up a Lokayukta by state law within one year [1].

• Maharashtra (1971) had the first working Lokayukta. By 2011, 18 states had Lokayukta laws [3].
• Karnataka (2011): the Lokayukta under Justice N. Santosh Hegde reported on illegal mining and blamed the Chief Minister. CM B.S. Yediyurappa resigned.
• Karnataka ACB (2016): the state government created an Anti-Corruption Bureau and gave it the Lokayukta's police powers. The High Court quashed the ACB in 2022.
• Kerala (2022 amendment): the government can now hear and reject a Lokayukta's declaration against a public servant. Before 2022, such a declaration had to be accepted.

Don't confuse with

• Lokayukta: the state-level ombudsman. It is set up under each state's own Act, so its powers differ from state to state. The 2013 Act only ordered states to create one (s. 63).
• Central Vigilance Commission (CVC): under the Lokpal Act, complaints against Group C and D officials go to the CVC first. The Lokpal sits above the CVC for the political executive and for Group A and B officers.
• CBI: an investigating agency, not an ombudsman. In cases the Lokpal refers, the Lokpal supervises the CBI (s. 25) but cannot tell it how to decide.
• Sectoral ombudsmen (for example, the RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme 2021 and the Insurance Ombudsman): these handle customer service complaints in one sector, not corruption by public servants.

Prelims Hooks

• Act No. 1 of 2014. It was passed in December 2013 and received assent on 1 January 2014 [1]. The Lokpal is statutory, not constitutional.
• Selection committee: PM, Speaker, LoP in the Lok Sabha, CJI or nominee, and an eminent jurist. Trap: the Rajya Sabha Chairman is NOT a member.
• Removal: by the President after a Supreme Court inquiry, on a petition by at least 100 MPs. Trap: this is not an impeachment-style vote in Parliament [1].
• PM inquiry: needs two-thirds of the full bench and is held in camera. The excluded subjects include atomic energy and space [1].
• Numbers: up to 8 members, 50% judicial, minimum age 45, term of 5 years or age 70, 7-year time bar, and FCRA bodies covered above ₹10 lakh a year [1].
• Common Cause (2017): the Lokpal can be appointed without a recognised LoP. Maharashtra (1971) had the first working Lokayukta.

Mains Points

• Independence versus dependence:
• For independence: high-level selection, a fixed term, and removal only after an SC inquiry.
• Against: the Lokpal relies on the CBI and CVC to investigate and on the executive for staff and sanction (the government's permission to prosecute its own officers). By the end of 2010, the Centre had not replied to 236 CBI sanction requests, and 155 (66%) of them were pending for over three months [3].

• Reform: its own investigation cadre, and a sanction process that the government cannot block.

• Shielding the PM: the excluded subjects and the two-thirds, in-camera rule protect the office from frivolous or political complaints. Critics say the same rules make a real inquiry almost impossible.

• Federalism and the "one more body" critique:
• Section 63 left the design of Lokayuktas to the states. Karnataka's ACB (2016) and Kerala's 2022 amendment show how state governments can weaken their own watchdogs. One option is minimum national standards, for example through model legislation.
• Few prosecutions, complaints rejected on format, and five years without appointments (2014–19) feed the critique that the Lokpal risks becoming "one more body".
• Remedies: simpler complaint forms, published case data, enforcement of the s. 20 time limits, and stronger whistle-blower protection.

Related concepts

• Ombudsman
• Lokpal
• Lokayukta

Read more

• Lokpal and Lokayuktas: India's ombudsman