Lokpal disposes of 1,000 complaints; govt yet to notify form to file graft-related complaints

Anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal has disposed of 1,000 complaints received by it till September this year, an official from the Personnel Ministry said on Monday.

The ministry is yet to notify a form for filing corruption-related complaint with the Lokpal, nearly eight months after the ombudsman came into being, he said.

"Although the form for filing complaint has not yet been notified, Lokpal decided to scrutinise all the complaints received in the office of Lokpal, in whatever form they were sent. 1,065 complaints received till 30th September, 2019. Out of which 1,000 have been heard and disposed of," the official said quoting Lokpal data.

After scrutiny, complaints that did not fall within the mandate of the Lokpal were disposed of and complainants were informed accordingly, he said.

Lokpal is an apex body to deal with cases of corruption at the national level. It has to enquire into allegations of corruption against public functionaries of central government in a time bound manner.

President Ram Nath Kovind on March 23 administered the oath of office to Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose as the chairperson of Lokpal.

Justice Ghose retired as the Supreme Court judge in May 2017. He had last served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) before being named as the chief of the anti-corruption ombudsman.

The Lokpal's eight members were administered the oath by Justice Ghose on March 27.

Former chief justices of different high courts -- justices Dilip B Bhosale, Pradip Kumar Mohanty, Abhilasha Kumari and Ajay Kumar Tripathi -- had taken oath as judicial members of the Lokpal.

Former first woman chief of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Archana Ramasundaram, ex-Maharashtra chief secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, former IRS officer Mahender Singh and Gujarat cadre ex-IAS officer Indrajeet Prasad Gautam were sworn-in as the Lokpal's non-judicial members.

According to rules, there is a provision for a chairperson and a maximum of eight members in the Lokpal panel. Of these, four need to be judicial members.

The Lokpal Act, which envisages appointment of a Lokpal at the Centre and lokayuktas in states, to look into cases of corruption against certain categories of public servants, was passed in 2013.