Case Updates
COMMON CAUSE UPDATES
Supreme Court Contempt Petition on NonAppointment of Lokpal: The petition for appointment of Lokpal filed by Common Cause was disposed by the SC in April 2017 maintaining that the Lokpal Act was a perfectly workable piece of legislation. However, the government failed to appoint the Lokpal nine months after the Apex Court verdict. Common Cause filed a contempt petition seeking Court’s directions against the government’s wilful and deliberate failure to fully comply with the aforementioned judgment. The matter was taken up on February 23, 2018 and thereafter in March, April and May, 2018. The Centre had on May 15, 2018 informed the Court that senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi has been appointed as an eminent jurist in the selection committee for Lokpal appointment. The Supreme Court on July 2, 2018 directed the Centre to apprise it within 10 days about the time frame for Lokpal appointment. A Bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi asked the government to file an affidavit within 10 days giving details of the steps which are likely to be taken for appointing the Lokpal. The Bench posted the matter for hearing on July 17, 2018, when the Centre
informed the SC that the Lokpal selection committee had decided to meet on July 19 for constituting a search panel. This panel would be responsible for recommending names to be considered for Lokpal appointment. As the selection committee was scheduled to meet on July 19, 2018, the Bench fixed the matter for further hearing on July 24, 2018, without passing any orders. On July 24, 2018, the Attorney General (AG) submitted an affidavit stating that a meeting of the selection committee was held but the names for the search committee were not finalised and therefore another meeting would be held soon. Expressing dissatisfaction over the Centre’s response, the Bench directed it to file a fresh affidavit giving relevant details of the search committee within four weeks. The matter was listed on August 24, 2018 but could not be taken up. Writ for Police Reforms: The battle for police reforms has been going on for the last 22 years. The Supreme Court took 10 years to give a historic judgment in 2006 in the petition filed by Prakash Singh, Common Cause and NK Singh. Since then it has been a struggle to get the Court’s directions implemented. On July 3, 2018, responding to an interlocutory application filed
