ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
Institution of Lokpal and Lokayuktas
(Ombudsman)
SUBMITTED BY
MOHAMMAD HASNIAN
6TH Sem., B.A.,LL.B(HONS)
SUBMITTED TO
MR. Vinod Chauhan
FACULTY OF LAW
JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA
Index
1. Acknowledgement.....................................................................................................02
2. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 03
3. The origin of Lokpal and Lokayukta in India ........................................................ 04
4. Role and Importance of Ombudsman ....................................................................... 05
5. Appointment of Ombudsman ................................................................................... 06
6. Selection Procedure for the members of Lokpal ......................................................07
7. Working of Ombudsman ...........................................................................................08
8. The institution of Ombudsman in the Indian scenario ............................................ 09
9. Limitation .................................................................................................................. 10
10. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................11
11. Reference ....................................................................................................................12
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher Mr. Vinod
Chauhan sir, who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project
on the topic- ombudsman. Which also help me in doing a lot of research and I
came to know about so may new things I am really thankful to them.
Thanking You,
Mohammad Hasnain
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Introduction
An ombudsman, ombudsperson, ombud, or public advocate is an official who is charged with
representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints of
maladministration or a violation of rights. The ombudsman is usually appointed by the government
or by parliament, but with a significant degree of independence. In some countries an inspector
general, citizen advocate or other official may have duties similar to those of a national
ombudsman, and may also be appointed by a legislature. Below the national level an ombudsman
may be appointed by a state, local or municipal government. Unofficial ombudsmen may be
appointed by, or even work for, a corporation such as a utility supplier, newspaper, NGO, or
professional regulatory body.
The typical duties of an ombudsman are to investigate complaints and attempt to resolve them,
usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. Ombudsmen sometimes also
aim to identify systematic issues leading to poor service or breaches of people's rights. At the
national level, most ombudsmen have a wide mandate to deal with the entire public sector, and
sometimes also elements of the private sector (for example, contracted service providers). In
some cases, there is a more restricted mandate, for example with particular sectors of society.
More recent developments have included the creation of specialized Children's Ombudsman and
Information Commissioner Agencies.
In some jurisdictions an ombudsman charged with handling concerns about national government
is more formally referred to as the "Parliamentary Commissioner" (e.g. the United Kingdom
Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, and the Western Australian state
Ombudsman). In many countries where the ombudsman's responsibility includes protecting
human rights, the ombudsman is recognized as the national human rights institution. The post of
ombudsman had by the end of the 20th century been instituted by most governments and by
some intergovernmental organizations such as the European Union.
The Insurance Ombudsman scheme was created by the Government of India for individual
policyholders to have their complaints settled out of the courts system in a cost-effective, efficient
and impartial way.
There are at present 17 Insurance Ombudsman in different locations and any person who has a
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grievance against an insurer, may himself or through his legal heirs, nominee or assignee, make a
complaint in writing to the Insurance ombudsman within whose territorial jurisdiction the branch
or office of the insurer complained against or the residential address or place of residence of the
complainant is located.
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The origin of Lokpal and Lokayukta in India
The issue concerning the ombudsman was for the first time raised in the Parliament in the year
1963. The idea of ombudsman came to India in the year 1959. Mr C.D. Deshmukh was the
Chairman of the University Grants Commission and he made possible the establishment of a
tribunal which would be completely impartial and would look into the matters and make proper
reports on the complaints filed by the public in general. From this incident there have been
continuous demands for the establishment of such a mechanism like an ombudsman in all the strata
of the Indian society.[iii]
A crucial change with reference to the Lokpal Bill came in the year 2011 and it was in this year
that the Lokpal Bill was passed and it eventually led to the establishment of the institution of
Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayukta at State level. Another important feature of this Bill is that the
form of the current Bill has been arrived at after it went through numerous recurring rounds of
consultations and discussions with all the interested parties which also included the society at large.
And it was only after such numerous deliberations and proper consultations that this Act eventually
came into force on the 1st January 2014.
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Role and Importance of Ombudsman
Following points reveal role and importance of Federal Ombudsman in providing remedies to
citizens against administrative actions;
(i) Root causes of corrupt Practices and Injustice
For ascertaining root causes of corrupt practices and injustice, Wafaqi Mohtasib makes
arrangements for studies or research. He also recommends appropriate steps for their eradication.
(ii) Institutionalization of a system for enforcing administrative accountability
Wafaqi Mohtasib is to institutionalize a system for enforcing administrative accountability. In this
way, administrative actions are made accountable.
(iii) Investigation and Rectification of Maladministration
Ombudsman is to investigate and rectify maladministration. In this way, maladministration is
checked and citizens are provided remedies against maladministration.
(iv) Awarding of Compensation
Ombudsman possesses power to award compensation to those citizens, who have suffered loss or
damages as a result of maladministration.
(v) Briding Gab between Administrators and Citizens
Ombudsman bridges gab between administrators and citizens. This role improves friendly relations
and atmosphere between them and paves a way for better administration of public affairs by
administrators and for better citizen’s understanding of administration of public affairs.
(vi) Improvement of Administrative process and procedures
Ombudsman is to improve administrative process and procedures so as to check misuse of
administrative powers and to save citizens from misuse of administrative powers.
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(vii) Checking of Misuse of Discretionary Powers
Ombudsman plays an important role in checking misuse of discretionary powers. And checking of
discretionary powers saves people from negative effects of misuse of discretionary powers.
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Appointment of Ombudsman
Section 4(1) of the Act reads as, “the Chairperson and members of Lokpal shall be appointed by
the President and this appointment shall be compulsorily made in accordance with the
recommendations which are based on the report given by the Selection Committee.” This Selection
Committee which will be giving its recommendation will be comprised of the Prime Minister, the
Speaker of the House of People, Leader of the Opposition in the House of People, the Chief Justice
of India or a Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the Chief Justice and one eminent Jurist.
This specific provision has been heavily criticised. A Chief Justice, because of his credentials
should never be subordinate to the Prime Minister and with respect to the appointment of the Jurist
it is very crucial that it be done with extreme caution as it will definitely be a very important factor
to prevent the Lokpal from becoming a mere toothless law; rather, it would become a rubber stamp
of the party which is in power at that point of time. Section 4 (2) clearly states, that mere vacancy
in the Selection Committee will not annul the appointment of a Chairperson or a member of
Lokpal. It becomes very difficult to ascertain the real intent behind this provision. It is almost
impossible to have a situation when the post of the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, and Leader
of Opposition in the Lok Sabha or the Chief Justice of India are vacant. Section 5 makes it very
clear that the selection process must compulsorily start before a minimum of three months from
expiry of the term of the Chairperson or a Member of the Lokpal in order to make sure that there
is no vacancy in the Selection Committee. It is the vacancy of the eminent jurist which has a proper
legal backing.
The appointment or vacancy of the eminent jurist is actually an important tool which the
government possesses and it is with the help of this tool that the government is able to take control
of the majority of the members who are in the executive, specifically in matters of a dissenting
judicial member, the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Prime Minister being at one end. Such sections
can be used to mould the circumstances accordingly and hence it is very ambiguous and should
have been avoided.
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Selection Procedure for the members of Lokpal
The Lokpal consists of one Chairperson and eight members and these members are selected
through the screening of two committees and these committees are, Selection Committee
and Search Committee.
The Selection Committee has the core function of selection and final say in the matter and it
comprises of five prestigious office-bearers as members, viz, the Prime Minister, the Speaker of
the Lok Sabha, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) or a
judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the CJI, and one eminent jurist, as recommended by th e
other four members of the committee. Before selection by the committee above, another group of
seven members is constituted, called the Search Committee. An essential function of this
committee is to shortlist a panel of eligible candidates for the post of Chairperson and members of
the Lokpal, which is then put before the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee then
decides upon this proposed panel by the Search Committee. A peculiar feature of the Search
Committee and that of the Lokpal is that, half of the total members of each should be persons
belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, minorities and
women.
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Working of Ombudsman
You have first approached your insurance company with the complaint and
They have rejected it
Not resolved it to your satisfaction or
Not responded to it at all for 30 days
Your complaint pertains to any policy you have taken in your capacity as an individual and
The value of the claim including expenses claimed is not above Rs 30 lakhs.
Your complaint to the Ombudsman can be about:
a) Delay in settlement of claims, beyond the time specified in the regulations, framed under
the IRDAI Act, 1999.
b) Any partial or total repudiation of claims by the Life insurer, General insurer or the Health
insurer.
c) Any dispute about premium paid or payable in terms of insurance policy
d) Misrepresentation of policy terms and conditions at any time in the policy document or
policy contract.
e) Legal construction of insurance policies in so far as the dispute relates to claim.
f) Policy servicing related grievances against insurers and their agents and intermediaries.
g) Issuance of life insurance policy, general insurance policy including health insurance
policy which is not in conformity with the proposal form submitted by the proposer.
h) Non issuance of insurance policy after receipt of premium in life insurance and general
insurance including health insurance and
i) Any other matter resulting from the violation of provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938 or
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the regulations, circulars, guidelines or instructions issued by the IRDAI from time to time
or the terms and conditions of the policy contract, in so far as they relate to issues mentioned
at clauses (a) to (f)
The institution of Ombudsman in the Indian scenario
In the year 1966 a commission was set up named the Administrative Reforms Commission and
this commission recommended that an institution based on the lines of an ombudsman is necessary
in India and in pursuance of this a bill was forwarded in the Lok Sabha in the year 1968 which was
eventually passed in the year 1969. Since the governments have yielded so much power that can
lead to its abuse, it eventually leads to the advent of the ombudsman in India.
Once India attained freedom from the shackles of the British Empire, India had a humungous task
to deal with, coping with problems such as the Second World War, economic crises and famines
to name a few. And in order to tackle all these problems, India required a competent administrative
set up and huge amount of power was given to the administrators and therefore a proper
mechanism was required to protect the individuals from the faults of the administration. As was
the case in Denmark, India also had to suffer a lot of administrative crises after the Second World
War and there were numerous cases of maladministration and corruption surfacing during this
period and such problems had to be tackled immediately.
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LIMITATIONS
Power and Jurisdiction of the Lokayuktas in States
The controversial backlog of the Act involving State legislatures was the one that led to the
rejection of a previous Bill which in turn brought a revised Bill providing an option of Article 252
to be invoked and option was given to the States to have their own Lokpal Act.
The present Act mandates the setting up of Lokayuktas in each state within one year along with
the provision that State legislatures shall have the authority to determine the powers and
jurisdiction of the Lokayukta. This makes the situation crystal clear and the gives rise to the
apprehension of inefficient Lokayuktas with restricted jurisdiction in the fetters of the state
government’s stewards adversely affecting the poor and marginalized through raging corruption.
Laches or restrictions
Another limitation of the Act is envisaged in the following words that the Lokpal “shall not inquire
or investigate into any complaint, if the complaint is made after the expiry of a period of seven
years from the date on which the offence mentioned in such complaint is alleged to have been
committed.”
Though unreasonable delay by the plaintiff in instituting a suit or filing a complaint is a ground
for dismissal but the gist of the matter is that cases concerned with lokpal are usually high-profile
scams of the government bringing under its garb the highest office bearers which are discovered
with proper evidence only after one regime ends (five years or even seven years) and a proposal
is made that in the presence of concrete and corroborative evidence, complaints should be
entertained and worked upon by the Lokpal to ensure justice and so that the purpose of the Act is
served.
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Conclusion
In order to make sure that a nation should prosper it becomes very important that the administrative
wing of the nation is functioning properly and efficiently and at the same time one key point to be
noted is that there is no corruption in the administrative department of the nation. Corruption is
actually the deep rooted cause which is the biggest obstacle in the development of a nation. In order
to tackle this problem of corruption the institution of ombudsman plays the most important role
and in the Indian context this role is played by the Lokpal.
The other point to be noted is that when the concept of ombudsman emerged at that point of time
it was made to tackle the problem of maladministration and inefficiency with corruption just being
a part of it but as time passed the problem of corruption grew to such an extent that now the
institution of ombudsman is considered to be made only for the problem of corruption. This
problem of corruption cannot be tackled only through legislation; a concentrated and unified effort
is required from the society as a whole. For corruption to spread its root so deep into the system of
any nation the citizens of the nation are equally to be blamed because it is not only the
administrative officials who are at the wrong side.
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Reference
1. http://www.policyholder.gov.in/Ombudsman.aspx
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Work_Ombudsman
3. https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/institution-ombudsman-legislative-judicial-outlook/
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