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- Former Supreme Court judge Pinaki Chandra Ghose is likely to be the first Lokpal of the country, officials in the know of developments said.
- Justice PC Ghose’s name was cleared by the selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, and senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi.
- Justice Ghose’s name was among the top 10 names that was shortlisted by the Lokpal Search Committee.
- After retiring in May 2017 from the Supreme Court, Justice Ghose joined the National Human Rights Commission.
- Justice Ghose is a former judge of Calcutta high court and has also served as the former chief justice of Andhra Pradesh high court.
- Jutice Ghose’s appointment has come nearly five years after the Lokpal Act was notified on January 16, 2014. The law provides for a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states to probe cases of corruption against public servants.
- The Supreme Court, while hearing a PIL filed by NGO Common Cause, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, in a hearing on January 4, this year, had urged the government to appoint a Lokpal at the earliest, saying “much time has elapsed, something needs to be done”.
- In a letter to the PM, he wrote that he would attend the meeting only after relevant changes are effected in the law. He had also hit out at the Modi government for not amending the Lokpal Act to facilitate the participation of the opposition in the Lokpal’s selection process.
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