A fasting Anna Hazare might have support of the civil societyin his battle to bring in accountability for the high and mighty. But the Jan Lokpal bill, proposed by the associates of the anti-corruption activist, could well dilute the country's democratic institutions. It could also emerge as an extra-constitutional body without checks and balances. Let's take a look at the some of the proposals of the Jan Lokpal bill and how it could impact our system of governance.
The Jan Lokpal Bill calls for the merger of all existing anti-corruption bodies like the CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of the CBI into the Lokpal.
This would amount to immense concentration of power in just one institution, which on the face of it, does not guarantee incorruptibility.
The Jan Lokpal will have complete powers to initiate investigations suo motu in any case. It will be able to register FIRs, proceed with criminal investigation and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.
This could dangerously weaken authority of other institutions of accountability in a democracy.
The proposed People's Ombudsman Bill even gives directives to the Supreme Court on how to handle petitions related to the Lokpal.
This would require several constitutional amendments and could compromise judicial independence.
More importantly, the Jan Lokpal could not only look into corruption, but also probe wasteful expenditure.
This will dilute the law-making powers of the legislature and rob the democratically-elected governments of all policy initiatives.
Even one of the touted authors of the Jan Lokpal bill, Justice Santosh Hegde, has expressed reservations.
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