Setting an example: Nitish

Patna, Nov. 8: The Bihar government has set the ball rolling for setting up the office of a powerful Lokayukta in the state that will bring under its ambit the serving chief minister and all government employees.

A draft of the proposed legislation, christened The Bihar Lokayukta Bill, 2011, was approved by the cabinet at its meeting here today.

Unlike the existing Act, under which only government servants come under the ambit of the Lokayukta, the draft bill talks about a Lokayukta which can investigate “the chief minister or who has been a chief minister, ministers or who has been a minister, any person who is or has been a member of either House of the state legislature, every state government employee, members of boards and corporations or any other institution which gets grant from the state government”.

To ensure that the new institution functions effectively, the draft bill also talks of setting up independent investigation and prosecution wings under the office of the Lokayukta.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar, who begins his Seva Yatra tomorrow, had earlier promised to bring in the chief minister under the ambit of the Lokayukta.

Though the government would not admit it, given the political shades colouring the anti-corruption movement, many of the features of the draft bill are similar to the one proposed in the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by Anna Hazare and his team.

The Bihar government insisted that the draft bill prepared by it is an original one. “It is a bill prepared by the state government with an open mind with the sole aim to create a very powerful office of the Lokayukta,” general administration department principal secretary Deepak Kumar told The Telegraph.

People can send their objections and suggestions about the draft bill, the details of which have been made available on the website of the general administration department (www.gad.bih.nic.in), till November 22.

The government would then hold consultations with political parties. Once the consultation process is over, a group of ministers headed by deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi would fine-tune the bill.

“The entire process would be completed before the beginning of the winter session of the state legislature commencing from December 2. The bill would be tabled for approval of the legislature in the winter session itself,” principal secretary, cabinet coordination, Ravi Kant said.

The draft bill, after approval by the legislature, would replace the existing Bihar Lokayukta Act, 1973, according to which the existing body of Lokayukta has one chairperson and which only has recommending powers.

According to the draft bill, the institution of the Lokayukta would be a multi-member body comprising one chairperson and two members. Of these three, at least two persons shall be judicial members.

The draft bill has virtually shut the door on politicians becoming a member or chairperson of the Lokayukta.

“The chairperson or member shall be a person who is/was not a member of Parliament or a member of the legislature of any state or union territory and shall not hold any office of trust or profit or be connected with any political party …” reads a section of the draft bill.

The selection of the Lokayukta members would be done by a committee headed by the chief minister. The other members would comprise one minister nominated by the chief minister, the outgoing Lokayukta, two sitting judges of the high court nominated by the chief justice of Patna High Court, leader of Opposition in the Assembly and one eminent citizen of Bihar to be nominated by the chief minister in consultation with the leader of Opposition and the chief justice.

The selection committee would have to follow certain norms while choosing the Lokayukta members.

To be appointed as chairperson or member, a person has to be of impeccable integrity, outstanding ability and standing having special knowledge of, and professional experience of not less than 25 years in, public affairs, administrative law and policy, academics, commerce and industry, law, finance or management and not less than 50 years of age.

In case of judicial members, the person has to be a chief justice or a judge of a high court or qualified to be appointed as judge of a high court and not less than 50 years of age.

The term of the office of the chairperson and members would be five years or until he or she attains the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier.

Like the salaries of high court judges, the salaries of the chairperson and members would be charged to the consolidated fund of the state; hence it does not need to be approved by the state legislature.

The chairperson and members can be removed from office by order of the governor on grounds of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court, on a reference being made to it by the governor, has, on inquiry, reported that the chairperson or the member ought to be removed on such ground.