Ex-SC Judge Justice AM Khanwilkar Appointed As Lokpal Chairperson

The President of India has appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice AM Khanwilkar has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Lok Pal.

Justice Lingappa Swamy (former HP HC Chief Justice & Karnataka HC Judge), Justice Sanjay Yadav(former Allahabad HC CJ) and Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi(former Karnataka HC CJ & Allahabad HC judge, present Chairperson of the Law Commission of India) are the judicial members.

Former civil servants Sushil Chandra(ex-CEC), Pankaj Kumar and Ajay Tirkey are appointed as non-judicial members of Lokpal.

The Lokpal has jurisdiction over central government to inquire into allegations of corruption against its public functionaries including the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, members of parliament, Group A officials of the Central Government and for matters connecting them.

The Lok Pal and Lok Ayuktas Act was passed in 2013. As per Section 4 of the Act, the Chairperson and Members shall be appointed by the President after obtaining the recommendations of a Selection Committee consisting of—

(a) the Prime Minister—Chairperson;

(b) the Speaker of the House of the People—Member;

(c) the Leader of Opposition in the House of the People—Member;

d) the Chief Justice of India or a Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by him—Member;

(e) one eminent jurist, as recommended by the Chairperson and Members referred to in clauses (a) to (d) above, to be nominated by the President—Member.

The first Lok Pal Chairperson, Justice PC Ghose, was appointed in March 2019. Justice Pradip Kumar Mohnaty has been officiating as the Acting Chairperson of Lok Pal since May 2022.

Justice Khanwilkar was a judge of the Supreme Court from 13 May 2016 to 29 July 2022. Before his elevation to the Supreme Court, he was the Chief Justice of the High Courts of Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh and a judge of the Bombay High Court.

At the Supreme Court, Justice Khanwilkar was part of several Constitution judgments such as the decriminalisation of homosexuality, Sabarimala women entry, validty of Aadhaar etc. He also led the bench which upheld the exoneration of Narendra Modi in the 2002 riots case, upheld the validity of the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and FCRA amendments.