The Centre on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that a meeting of the Lokpal selection committee has been called for on Thursday, July 19, for constituting a search panel.
A bench of the top court, headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, was informed by the Centre that the search committee will recommend a panel of names of people for appointing a Lokpal.
Following this, the court refused to make any direction on the issue and expressed hope that the selection committee would lay down a time frame for the search committee to complete its mandate under the Act.
The selection committee will be headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The apex court has listed the matter for further hearing on July 24.
Earlier in July, the court asked the central government to file a report on the appointment of an anti-graft ombudsman Lokpal.
The Supreme Court is hearing a contempt petition filed by senior advocate Shanti Bhushan on behalf of an NGO, Common Cause, which states that the Centre failed to appoint a Lokpal despite the apex court’s direction in this regard, issued on April 27, 2017.
Last year, the apex court had said there was no justification to keep the enforcement of Lokpal Act suspended until the proposed amendments were cleared by Parliament.
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas are governing bodies at the central and state levels, respectively, appointed to check corruption by all public servants, including the Prime Minister.
Under the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013, the high-level selection committee for appointments to Lokpal comprises the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, the Leader of Opposition (LoP), the Chief Justice of India and an eminent jurist chosen by them.
