The Concluding paragraph of the said judgement reads: "We, therefore, conclude by quoting Justice Krishna Iyer In Reference, the Special Courts Bill, 1978 4 and holding that the Act as it stands today is an eminently workable piece of legislation and ***there is no justification to keep the enforcement of the Act under suspension till the amendments, as proposed, are carried out*** [emphasis added]."
(Source: <http://www.livelaw.in/breaking-lokpal-bill-workable-legislation-no-need-keep-pending-sc-centre/>.) And, here is the reaction of the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha: "Reacting to the court’s ruling, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge told The Indian Express that the government could have issued an ordinance if it wanted the Lokpal to become functional. He expressed concern that after the SC ruling, the government could appoint anyone, without consulting the Opposition." (Source: <http://indianexpress.com/article/india/cant-keep-hanging-pick-lokpal-without-leader-of-opposition-supreme-court-4631260/>.) Sukla On 28/04/2017, Sukla Sen <[email protected]> wrote: > [If the very selection process of the Lokpal is vitiated, the whole > purpose is defeated; in fact, it may even turn out to be > counterproductive. > > Instead of asking the government to table the necessary amendment in > the parliament at the very earliest - there is no legitimate ground > for the inordinate delay, it tells the government to go ahead without > the opposition nominee in the selection panel. > > It's just weird.] > > All India | Reported by A Vaidyanathan, Sunil Prabhu, Edited by > Deepshikha Ghosh | Updated: April 27, 2017 19:44 IST > > HIGHLIGHTS > Anti-corruption Lokpal should be set up without delay: Supreme Court > Law to set up Lokpal was passed in parliament in 2013, enacted year later > Since then, there has been no movement > > The anti-corruption Lokpal should be set up without delay and the > lack of a Leader of Opposition should not hold up the process anymore, > the Supreme Court told the government today. This means, the > government can select an ombudsman without taking the Congress, the > main opposition group, on board. > > "Set up a Lokpal without the involvement of a Leader of Opposition. > There is no reason to delay the appointment of a Lokpal due to the > non-availability of a Leader of Opposition," the court said, acting on > a petition that says the process has been delayed for three years. > > The law to set up a Lokpal was passed in parliament in 2013 - after a > massively popular campaign led by activist Anna Hazare that included > Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan - and was enacted a year later. > > Since then, there has been no movement. > > Last month, the government told the court that the Lokpal cannot be > appointed for now as there is no Leader of Opposition in the selection > panel and a change in law that would allow the Congress - as largest > opposition group - to be a member has yet to be approved in > parliament. > > In 2014, the BJP came to power, decimating the Congress after two > terms. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said the leader of > opposition's place in the Lokpal selection committee would stay vacant > as there was none. The Congress with 44 seats fell far short of what > it needed to qualify for Leader of Opposition; a party needs to win at > least 10 per cent of seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha. > > Amid criticism and prodding from the Supreme Court, the government > later made a concession and decided to include the largest opposition > party in selection panels not just for the Lokpal but also for CBI > chief. > > Other members of the Lokpal selection panel are the Prime Minister, > the Lok Sabha Speaker, the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court > judge, and an eminent jurist. > > > -- > Peace Is Doable > -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
