Stop MPLADS, keep PM out of Lok Ayukta: Moily panel proposes

A national ombudsman called the Rashtriya Lok Ayukta to cover all Union Ministers and Chief Ministers but leaving out the Prime Minister

A national ombudsman called the Rashtriya Lok Ayukta to cover all Union Ministers and Chief Ministers but leaving out the Prime Minister, a National Judicial Council to appoint High Court and Supreme Court judges, and fresh elections for members of a party that abandons a coalition, abolition of MPLADS and MLALADS — these are among the sweeping changes recommended by the Administrative Reforms Commission headed by former Karnataka chief minister Veerapa Moily.

Explaining why the Prime Minister needed to be left out of the Lok Ayukta’s purview, the commission said he should be answerable to Parliament, and that scrutiny by any other body could bring governance to a standstill.

The Rashtriya Lok Ayukta should be chosen from a panel of sitting Supreme Court judges with more than three years of service remaining, the commission has recommended.

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The 263-page report also says there is no need for sanction before prosecution of public servants caught red-handed or in cases of disproportionate assets. It also calls for delegating power to sanction prosecution to an empowered committee headed by the Chief Vigilance Commissioner, and for a two-month deadline for deciding whether an officer should be prosecuted or not.

The report also recommends that the Prevention of Corruption Act should be amended to cover private-sector entitites providing public utility services and NGOs receiving substatial funding.

On judicial reforms, the report has called for a National Judicial Council headed by the Vice-President, and including the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, and Chief Justice of India, for appointment of judges. For High Court judges, the Chief Minister and Chief Justice of the state will also be part of the process. The council should also be entrusted with overseeing judges and have powers to inquire into alleged misconduct, even impose minor penalties.

The report says the President should have the powers to remove a Supreme Court or High Court on the basis of the council’s recommendations.

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On the proposed amendment to make parties abandoning coalitions seek fresh mandate, the commission clarifies that it refers to one or more parties in a “coalition with a common minimum programme mandated by the electorate either explicitly before the elections or implicfitly while forming the government.” The commission’s other recommendations on electoral reform are partial state funding of elections, disqualification of persons facing charges of heinous offences and corruption, and the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners by a collegium headed by the Prime Minister and including the Lok Sabha Speaker, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Law Minister, and Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.

Among some of the other suggestions are:

• Protection of whistle-blowers

• New laws on serious economic offences and a serious frauds office under the Cabinet Secretariat

• Code of ethics for ministers

• Amendment of anti-corruption law to include “collusive bribery”, the outcome of a transaction that leads to a loss to the state, the public, or public interest.