Dear Friends,
To Examine The Biting Teeth that is the Penal provisions of the proposed STRONG JanLokpal / Lokpal ?
Continued Part V -
- Escalatory i.e. more stringent penal provisions, against whistle blowers for shielding Lokpal authority itself, at the risk and cost of whistle blowers !
Please Note: Total Numbers of Lokpal / Lokayukta Required:
Central Govt. Subjects = 11 Members
State Govt. Subjects = 300 + Members
So we as a nation are looking for more than ( 11 Central + 28 States X 11 each) = 300 + members of highest integrity (not to mention a huge Lokpal staff) who can punish both corrupt people in the Govt. as well as frivolous Complainant Citizens.
Central Govt. Subjects = 11 Members
State Govt. Subjects = 300 + Members
So we as a nation are looking for more than ( 11 Central + 28 States X 11 each) = 300 + members of highest integrity (not to mention a huge Lokpal staff) who can punish both corrupt people in the Govt. as well as frivolous Complainant Citizens.
Now, it is a challenging task to find such a huge number of men & women of complete integrity, and therefore accepting that challenge as a real possibility, people who have drafted the Janlokpal, have prescribed special provisions in their draft to take care of situations where a member of Lokpal itself may turn out to be corrupt !
This special provision has been prescribed under CHAPTER VI Titled - "Accountability of Officers of Lokpal", wherein it has been prescribed that a Complaint against a member of Lokpal will not be heard by the Lokpal itself, but there will be an Independent Complaints Authority for hearing such complaints.
Although theoretically on paper this concept of Independent Complaints Authority sounds very nice, but practically it may unfold in an entirely different way as described below.
This special provision has been prescribed under CHAPTER VI Titled - "Accountability of Officers of Lokpal", wherein it has been prescribed that a Complaint against a member of Lokpal will not be heard by the Lokpal itself, but there will be an Independent Complaints Authority for hearing such complaints.
Although theoretically on paper this concept of Independent Complaints Authority sounds very nice, but practically it may unfold in an entirely different way as described below.
Now, consider the following scenario where a citizen complainant may get an unfair decision by a Lokpal:
Suppose in a given case, a complainant has been declared as a frivolous complainant and fined Rs. 25,000/- for the same by a Lokpal.
Now suppose that particular complainant believes that given the prima facie merits of his case, the Lokpal had been biased, unfair and unjust in terming him as frivolous and fining him for the same.
The focus of such a complainant would then shift from - Corruption that he was initially trying to expose > To the person sitting in the chair of Lokpal itself, for being unjust and unfair.
Hence, the said complainant now decides to file a complain against the Lokpal himself !
Then the practical scenario for an ordinary complainant citizen (citizens similar to people who file RTI) would be .....
An Ordinary Inarticulate Complainant Citizen v/s. a person Experienced in discharging Qausi-Judicial functions i.e. Lokpal:
So, an ordinary inarticulate complainant citizen now faces the prospect of being pitted against a person called Lokpal who is an experienced person well versed in the legal field.
Interestingly, and more importantly, the further challenge that lies before the complainant is that he now faces the risk of an additional round of monetary fine (up to Rs. 25000/-) and because the complain is now against a member of Lokpal itself, he faces the escalatory prospect of being jailed ! yes you have read it right, jailed !
And so how many ordinary citizen complainants can take up this daunting challenge? not to forget that a genuine complainant being a whistle blower, maybe a nervous and fearful person in the first place.
Therefore, barring complainants well versed in legal field and confident of their articulation .....
The big question is, are the ordinary citizens capable of fighting a legal battle of complaining against a Lokpal himself, despite the concept which looks nice on paper, that the complain is to be heard by a separate authority, independent of Lokpal ?
The answer is a Yes if a Complainant has a professional backing of a legal team and No if a complainant is an ordinary person !
Therefore the bottom line message to an ordinary citizen complainant would be that if a Lokpal has been unjust in terming him as frivolous, please keep quiet and go back home, please do not try to go further by complaining against the Lokpal himself for being unfair, unless you are experienced in fighting a legal battle, lest one may end up paying further fine & also get jailed !
The concept of penalizing citizen complainants as frivolous and that too at the entry level and without any proper investigations, is a discretionary & arbitrary power which will work as a huge deterrent to whistle blowers with an ordinary background.
Continued in Part VI - Approaching Lokpal means entering into a room and locking the door from behind, the keys of exit being now available at the discretion of a Lokpal ! An Ordinary Inarticulate Complainant Citizen v/s. a person Experienced in discharging Qausi-Judicial functions i.e. Lokpal:
So, an ordinary inarticulate complainant citizen now faces the prospect of being pitted against a person called Lokpal who is an experienced person well versed in the legal field.
Interestingly, and more importantly, the further challenge that lies before the complainant is that he now faces the risk of an additional round of monetary fine (up to Rs. 25000/-) and because the complain is now against a member of Lokpal itself, he faces the escalatory prospect of being jailed ! yes you have read it right, jailed !
And so how many ordinary citizen complainants can take up this daunting challenge? not to forget that a genuine complainant being a whistle blower, maybe a nervous and fearful person in the first place.
Therefore, barring complainants well versed in legal field and confident of their articulation .....
The big question is, are the ordinary citizens capable of fighting a legal battle of complaining against a Lokpal himself, despite the concept which looks nice on paper, that the complain is to be heard by a separate authority, independent of Lokpal ?
The answer is a Yes if a Complainant has a professional backing of a legal team and No if a complainant is an ordinary person !
Therefore the bottom line message to an ordinary citizen complainant would be that if a Lokpal has been unjust in terming him as frivolous, please keep quiet and go back home, please do not try to go further by complaining against the Lokpal himself for being unfair, unless you are experienced in fighting a legal battle, lest one may end up paying further fine & also get jailed !
The concept of penalizing citizen complainants as frivolous and that too at the entry level and without any proper investigations, is a discretionary & arbitrary power which will work as a huge deterrent to whistle blowers with an ordinary background.
And they want class C & D to be included under Lokpal ?
Are these penal provisions (fine & jail) citizen friendly ?
Best Regards,
Sunil.
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