A proposed amendment in Lokpal Bill is pending before Parliament and is likely to be taken up in March
Government today informed the Supreme Court that a proposed amendment in Lokpal Bill is pending before Parliament and is likely to be taken up in March.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Ashok Bhushan that an amendment to the Lokpal Bill is likely to be taken up by Parliament in March.
Senior advocate Shanti Bhushan and lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, said the Lokpal law has been passed after a long struggle and the government is doing nothing to make it functional.
"Here is a law which was enacted three years ago after a long battle. It is the duty of the government and the court to ensure that the law is enforced," Mr Bhushan said.
The bench said it was listing the case for final hearing and posted the matter for March 28.
On December 7, the top court had asked the government to place before it a copy of the report of a Parliamentary Standing Committee suggesting amendments to the Lokpal law and wanted to know about the changes required to make the anti-graft ombudsman functional.
Mr Rohatgi had then told the bench that views of the top court had been conveyed to the highest authority that it "cannot go on like this" and assured the bench that the process would be "expedited".
He had said besides substituting LoP with the leader of the largest opposition party in Lok Sabha in the law, there was a need to bring in more changes.
As per the provision, the largest opposition party has to have 10 per cent of total number of MPs in Lok Sabha to claim the post of LoP and the amendment to this effect has been pending with Parliament, Mr Rohatgi had said.
Earlier, the court had pulled up the government over delay in appointment of Lokpal, saying it should not allow the law to become a "dead letter".