The Union Cabinet has approved a historic bill for creation of the Lokpal with Constitutional status.
Lokpal will be a nine-member body, whose Chairman will be selected by a four-member panel consisting of the Prime Minister, the Lok Sabha Speaker, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Chief Justice of India or his nominee from among the Supreme Court judges.
The bill provides for the Prime Minister to be brought under the purview of the Lokpal with certain safeguards that keep out aspects like international relations, public order, atomic energy, space, internal and external security from inquiry.
Though the Lokpal will have no control over CBI, an important provision has been added under which the CBI Director will be selected by a committee of the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge.
The draft bill also proposes 50 per cent reservation for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Classes, Minorities and Women in the Lokpal bench and in the search committee
It also proposes that half of the bench will be members from judicial background.
It will have a five-year term and its chairman or a member can be impeached only after at least 100 MPs make a representation.
