Former Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, the first Lokpal of country -

New Delhi, 23 (PTI): Former Supreme Court Justice, Pinaki Ghose, took oath as the first Lokpal of the country. The laws regarding Lokayukta at the state level and Lokpal at the central level were approved in 2013 for inquiring into allegations of corruption against public representatives and government officials. Although, some Lokayuktas were appointed under this act, the Lokpal, however, was not appointed at the central level. Against this background the name of Justice Pinaki Ghose was announced as the first Lokpal of the country on Tuesday.

Justice Pinaki Ghose is the Former Judge of Supreme Court and prior to it, he was the Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh. Presently, he was working as a member of the National Human Rights Commission. He is known as the Specialist in Human Rights Law. President Ramnath Kovind administered the Oath of Office as a Lokpal to Justice Pinaki Ghosh. A programme regarding the same was arranged at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Vice-President, Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi were present for the event.

Former Chief Justice Dilip Bhosale, Judge Pradeep Kumar Mohanty, Justice Abhilasha Kumari, Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh Ajay Tripathi are judicial members of Lokpal. Apart from this, Maharashtra’s former Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, former first woman chief of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Archana Ramasundaram and IAS Officer Indrajeet Prasad Gautam are also among the non-official members of the Lokpal. The Lokpal’s status is similar to that of the Chief Justice and his appointment will be decided by the Special Selection Commission. It includes the Chief Justice, Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha Speaker and the Judges appointed by the Chief Justice.