Evolution of
concept of
Ombudsman
“A critical analysis on legal framework governing Public
law mechanism”
By:
Hridya Aggarwal
BBA LLB 4
02919103519
Objectives of the
Project
• To understand the concept of
Ombudsman.
• To know why there is a need of a
Ombudsman in the country.
• To create awareness about the
ombudsman scheme and how to
register the grievances.
• To know about the huge movement
behind the passing of the citizen’s
ombudsman bill
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Introduction
Years ago, Mahatma Gandhi said that “Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be
inevitable products of democracy, as they undoubtedly are today.” Now days
Corruption has its deep roots in Indian Society. People who work on right principles
are unrecognized and considered to be foolish in the modern society. Earlier, bribes
were paid for getting wrong things done, but now bribe is paid forgetting right things
done at right time. In today’s scenario, if a person wants a government job he has to
pay lakhs of rupees to the higher officials irrespective of satisfying all the eligibility
criteria. In every office one has either to give money to the employee concerned or
arrange for some sources to get work done. There is not a single forum or
organizations of the citizens of India unaffected from Corruption.
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•A 2005 study conducted by Transparency International in India found that more than 62% of Indians had
first-hand experience of paying bribes or influence peddling to get jobs done in public offices successfully. In
its 2008 study, Transparency International reports about 40% of Indians had first-hand experience of paying
bribes or using a contact to get a job done in public office. In 2012 India was ranked 94th out of 176
countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. The basic idea of the Lok Pal is
borrowed from the office of ombudsman, which has played an effective role in checking corruption and
wrong-doing in Scandinavian and other nations. A Lokpal is a proposed ombudsman (Legal Representative)
in India. The word is derived from the Sanskrit word “lok” (people) and “pala” (protector/caretaker), or
“caretaker of people.
“Transparency International – the global coalition against corruption”.
Source: www.Transparency.org
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Meaning and Importance
• The term “Ombudsman” is Scandinavian, meaning something in the nature
of “entrusted person” or “grievance representative”. The part word “man” is
taken directly from the Swedish (the old Norse word was “umbodhsmadr”)
and does not connote any necessity that the holder be of the male gender
• Ombudsman means “a public official who acts as an impartial intermediary
between the public and government or bureaucracy, or an employee of an
organization who mediates disputes between employees and management”
• In its most frequent modern usage, an ombudsman is an official, usually
appointed by the government or by parliament but with a significant degree
of independence, who is charged with representing the interests of the public
by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individuals. Judges,
Lawyers and Higher officers are qualified to be an ombudsman
• In India today there are Ombudsmen appointed in twelve of the Indian
states, though not at Federal level. The term for them is “Lokayukta”, an
ancient word revived so as to make it meaningful in a local sense in that
country.
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Characteristics and Objectives of
Ombudsman Institution
i. Established as separate entity that is functionally
autonomous.
ii. Operationally independent of both the legislature and the
executive.
iii. Ombudsman is a legally established governmental official.
iv. A monitoring specialist.
v. Administrative expert and professional.
vi. Nonpartisan.
vii. Normatively universalistic.
viii. Client centred, but not ant administration.
ix. High status institutions
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Lokpal- An Indian Ombudsman
• The Indian Lokpal is synonymous to the institution of Ombudsman existing in the Scandinavian countries
(Sweden, Finland, Denmark etc).
• Ombudsman is a government official who investigates citizen‘s complaints against the administrative and
judicial action. Though appointed by the legislature he is an independent functionary – independent of all
three organs of the state, but reports to the legislature. The Ombudsman can act both on the basis of
complaints made by citizens or suo moto-that is, on his own initiative. He can look into allegations of
corruption as well as maladministration.
A. LOKAYUKTAS IN STATE
• At the state level, many states have adopted this institution in the name of Lokayukta. There are as many as
17 states where the institution of Lokayukta has been constituted, beginning with Orissa in 1971. However,
the power, functions of jurisdiction of Lakayuktas are not uniform in the country. In some state, it has been
applicable to the entire elected representative including CM. on the contrary, in some other state legislators
have been deliberately kept out of his purview. Lokayuktas have not been provided with their independent
investigating machinery making them dependent on the government agencies. As a result there lies enough
scope for the politicians and the bureaucrats to tinker with the process of investigation.
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B. RATIONALE FOR AN INSTITUTION – LOK PAL
• The mechanisms available in the regular process of government, are inadequate to check corruption in
administrative department, for example, and any decision of an official can be appealed to a higher official
all the way up to the head of a department. However this mechanism has inherent flaws. Though officers
enjoy departmental fraternity with those against whom complaints are made, and both sail the same boat.
Therefore their impartiality in judging appeals is always doubted. On the legislative side, an individual can
approach the member representing his constituency for his demands but given the absence of easy access of
an ordinary to his representative, this has more remained a myth than reality. Other than this politics is now
ridden with nepotism and favouritism, criminals have easy access to legislature, political corruption is
mounting this is more dangerous than bureaucratic corruption.
• The existing devices for checks on elected and administrative officials have not been effective as the
growing instances of corruption cases suggest. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is designed to
inquire into allegations of corruption by administrative officials only but cannot punish the guilty The CBI
,the premier investigating agency of the country, functions under the supervision of the Ministry of
Personnel, public grievances and pensions (under the Prime Minister) and is therefore not immune from
political pressure during investigation it can be said, the CVC is independent but does not have powers
while CBI has power but is not independent‖. As a result the first cannot punish while the latter cannot
investigate fairly. All these have necessitated the creation of an independent and high powered Lokpal with
its own investigation team.
You can visit the official website of central vigilance commission through
Central Vigilance Commission | Government of India
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Historical Aspect
• After independence when increasing practice of corruption, maladministration and misuse of authority and
resource couldn’t be curbed by existing measures under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the Prevention of
Corruption Act,1988, need for an agency independent of the executive, legislative and judiciary, to look into
citizens’ grievances and cases of corruption have been widely felt. Accordingly, an Administrative Reforms
Commission (ARC) was appointed in January 1966, for making recommendations on their organization of the
administrative system of the country
First Administrative Reforms Commission in its report submitted in 1966 suggested:
i. Evolution of a suitable grievance procedure for the individuals to invoke in complaints of maladministration;
ii. Creation of a mechanism which would reduce corruption in the administrative services; and
iii. Setting up a mechanism which would take cognizance of complaints of favouritism and nepotism against
Central and State Ministers.
For Full ARC Report visit DARPG 10
Lokpal Bill
The Lokpal Bill was for the first time presented by Mr. Shanti Bhushan during the fourth Lok Sabha in 1968, and
was passed there in 1969. However while it was pending in the Rajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha was dissolved, and so the
bill was not passed at that time. Subsequently, Lokpal bills were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998,
2001, 2005 and in2008, yet they were never passed. Each time, after the bill was introduced to the house, it was
referred to some committee for improvements a joint committee of parliament, or a departmental standing committee
of the Home Ministry and before the government could take a final stand on the issue, the house was dissolved again.
In 2002, the report of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution urged that the
Constitution should provide for the appointment of the Lok Pal and Lokayuktas in the states but suggested that the
Prime Minister should be kept out of the purview of the authority. The Second Administrative Commission, formed in
2005, also recommended that the office of the Lok Pal be established without delay. But nothing was done to pass the
bill to appoint Lokpal and Lokayukta till 2011.
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Jan Lokpal Bill
The Jan Lokpal Bill or the Citizen’s Ombudsman Bill is a draft
anticorruption bill drawn up by prominent civil society activists,
seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body
that would investigate corruption cases, complete the
investigation within one year and conduct trials for the case
within the next year.
Drafted by Justice Santosh Hegde, a former Supreme Court Judge and former Lokayukta of
Karnataka, Prashant Bhushan, a Supreme Court Lawyer and Arvind Kejriwal, an RTI activist and
present chief minister of delhi, the draft Bill envisaged a system in which a corrupt person found
guilty would go to jail within two years of the complaint being made and his ill-gotten wealth
confiscated. It also sought power for the Jan Lokpal to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without
requiring government permission.
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• Retired IPS officer Kiran Bedi and others, like Anna Hazare, Swami
Agnivesh, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and Mallika Sarabhai was also the
members of the India’s Anti Corruption Movement”. The movement
was described “an expression of collective anger of people of India
against corruption.” It goes on to state: “We have all come together
to force/request/persuade/pressurize the Government to enact the
Jan Lokpal Bill. We feel that if this Bill were enacted it would create
an effective deterrence against corruption.”
Anna Hazare, an anticorruption crusader, began a fast unto death,
demanding that this bill, drafted by Civil Society, be adopted. The
anticorruption movement of that year, which united millions of Indians, is
considered a watershed moment of this decade for Indian politics. Finally
under the pressure of the movement, the bill was passed by Rajya Sabha as
well as Lok Sabha and came into force on January 16, 2014.
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• Currently, the Lokpal consists of a Chairperson and eight
members. Four of the judicial members have been former
Chief Justices of different High Courts and the four non-
judicial members have been from All India Services/Central
Services. The Chairperson and members bring with them rich
experience and probity, which they have maintained in the
public offices that they have held.
• First Chairperson of the Lokpal is Shri Justice Pinaki
Chandra Ghose, who is a former Judge of Supreme Court of
India and was a sitting member of National Human Rights
Commission
• For the convenience of the citizens, a fillable form, based on the Lokpal
(Complaint) Rules 2020, has been uploaded on the website of the Lokpal of
India. A citizen has the option to use his form to file a complaint.
• You can visit the official website of Lokpal of india through lokpal
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Critical Observation on
Ombudsman Scheme
The most common criticism of the ombudsman system is that the function is not generally well
understood. There is relatively limited documentation and information about their work, often
confusion and uncertainty about their role, and with the proliferation of ombudsman offices in
different sectors, the confusion can be exacerbated. In spite of the key characteristic of accessibility,
ombudsman offices are frequently noted for their inaccessibility. Few citizens are aware of the
different ombudsman schemes, how to reach them and how to process a grievance. Inaccessibility is
the chief reason why ombudsman offices tend to be underutilised, especially by the most
disadvantaged who are less likely to know of the existence of ombudsman and have more difficulty
in registering complaints or grievances.
For detailed guidelines about how to register your complaint or grievances you can visit
the official website of lokpal through LOKPAL
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Conclusion
India is a country where honesty and integrities in public and private life have been glorified and upheld in great
epics such as Vedas, Upanishad and in the books and practices of every religion practiced here. Yet, India today
is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Bringing public servant and public functionaries under a
scanner which makes them strictly accountable, is the start of a movement against corruption in India. And one
significant step in attacking the spectrum of corruption in India will be the implementation of the Lok Pal Bill.
The main objective behind the institution of Lokpal is to give strength to citizens so that they can raise their
voice against corruption without any fear. The existing devices like CVC and CBI for checks on elected and
administrative officials have not been effective, as the growing instances of corruption cases suggest. All these
have necessitated the creation of Lokpal with its own investigating team.
Therefore, there is a need for a mechanism that would adopt very simple, independent, speedy and cheaper
means of delivering justice by redressing the grievances of the people.
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Thank You!
