AG-headed committee to look into changes in Lokpal rules

New Delhi: A committee under the chairmanship of the Attorney General (AG) has been formed by the Centre to look into the amendments in Lokpal search panel rules, which were notified by the last UPA government.

The government will go ahead with the appointment of chairperson and members of Lokpal only after the amendments are carried out in the rules, official sources said. The committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Attorney General Mukul Rohatagi to look into changes in the Lokpal search committee rules, they said. The search panel is mandated to recommend names for appointment of chairperson and members of the Lokpal. The erstwhile UPA government could not go ahead with the much-touted appointment of chairperson and members of Lokpal due to BJP`s objection to the selection procedure. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who was then Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, had raised strong objections to the "highly improper" procedure adopted by the UPA government to make appointments of Lokpal`s head and members. As per the existing rules, an eight-member search panel is tasked to draw up a panel of persons for consideration by the selection committee led by the Prime Minister for appointment of chairperson and members of the Lokpal. The search panel has to choose these persons from among the panel provided by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the rules say. However, the government is likely to empower the search committee to also include people from outside the list to be provided by the DoPT for consideration by the selection committee, the sources said.