Lokpal receives 30 complaints against senior central govt officials from Apr-Jul

Anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal received 30 complaints against senior central government officials between April and July this year, according to the latest official data. Of the total complaints made in this fiscal, 18 were received in July and 12 in April and June.

New Delhi: Anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal received 30 complaints against senior central government officials between April and July this year, according to the latest official data. Of the total complaints made in this fiscal, 18 were received in July and 12 in April and June.

Out of the 30 complaints, 18 were against group A or B officials and 12 against 'chairperson/member/officer/employee in anybody/board/corporation/authority/company/society/trust/autonomous body' wholly or partially financed by the Central government or controlled by it, according to the Lokpal data.

The data showed that 11 complaints were closed after preliminary examination, a preliminary enquiry was ordered in seven complaints, a status report was sought in one complaint and comments were sought in another. The Lokpal has sought additional information from the complainants in three complaints, it stated.

A preliminary enquiry report from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is pending in three complaints, the data for 2021-22 (updated at the end of July) showed. On March 23, 2019, President Ram Nath Kovind had administered the oath of office to Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose as the chairperson of the Lokpal, the apex body to inquire into and investigate allegations of corruption against public functionaries, including the Prime Minister.

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The Lokpal's eight members -- four judicial and the rest non-judicial -- were administered the oath of office by Justice Ghose on March 27, 2019. At present, the Lokpal has two vacancies for judicial members. As many as 110 complaints were received by the Lokpal during 2020-21, a decline of over 92 per cent from 1,427 plaints received in 2019-20.

Of these 110 complaints, four were against MPs, 57 against group A or group B central government officials, 44 against chairpersons, members and employees of different boards/corporations/autonomous bodies wholly or partially financed by the Centre, and five were in the 'others' category. Of the 1,427 complaints received in 2019-20, 613 were related to state government officials and four were against Union ministers and MPs, according to the data.

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PTI