Lokpal

The Lokpal is the central statutory anti-corruption ombudsman established under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, which received presidential assent on 1 January 2014 and came into force on 16 January 2014. The institution was the legislative culmination of a long campaign — the first Lokpal Bill was introduced in 1968 following the recommendations of the First Administrative Reforms Commission (chaired initially by Morarji Desai), and the 2011 anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare, demanding a strong "Jan Lokpal", supplied the decisive political momentum. The concept itself derives from the Scandinavian institution of the Ombudsman and the New Zealand Parliamentary Commissioner, adapted by jurist L. M. Singhvi, who coined the terms "Lokpal" and "Lokayukta" in 1963.

The Lokpal is a multi-member body comprising a Chairperson and up to eight members, of whom at least fifty per cent must be judicial members; not less than fifty per cent of members must belong to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, minorities or be women. The Chairperson is either a former Chief Justice of India, a former Supreme Court judge, or an eminent person of impeccable integrity. Appointment is made by the President on the recommendation of a Selection Committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Chief Justice of India (or his nominee judge), and an eminent jurist. Its jurisdiction extends to the Prime Minister (with safeguards excluding matters of international relations, security, public order, atomic energy and space), Union Ministers, Members of Parliament, and Group A, B, C and D officers. The Lokpal exercises superintendence over the Central Bureau of Investigation in cases referred by it, and possesses powers of search, seizure, attachment of assets derived from corruption, and confiscation under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The first Lokpal was constituted on 23 March 2019, when Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, a former Supreme Court judge, was appointed as the inaugural Chairperson, along with judicial and non-judicial members. The prolonged delay between the Act's passage in 2013 and the first appointment in 2019 — partly attributed to the absence of a recognised Leader of Opposition in the 16th Lok Sabha, resolved by the Lokpal (Amendment) Act, 2016, which allowed the leader of the single largest opposition party to serve — is itself a frequently examined point. As of 2026 the Lokpal continues to function, though commentators note its relatively low conviction throughput and overlap with the CBI and Central Vigilance Commission.

For the UPSC examination, the Lokpal is core material for General Studies Paper II under "statutory, regulatory and quasi-judicial bodies" and governance. Typical question angles include the composition of the Selection Committee, the distinction between the Lokpal (central) and Lokayuktas (states, mandated within one year under the same Act), the conditions under which the Prime Minister falls within jurisdiction, and comparison with the Ombudsman model. Prelims frequently tests factual specifics — quorum, reservation requirements, and the 2016 amendment — while Mains essays probe its effectiveness against institutional corruption.