SC asks Lokpal search panel to prepare list of shortlisted candidates by February-end
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Lokpal search committee headed by former top court Judge Ranjana Prakash Desai to complete its deliberations for shortlisting the candidates by February-end.
The bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice L. Nageswara Rao and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul gave search committee time till February 28 to complete the exercise of shortlisting the candidates.
The court also directed the Centre to provide infrastructure facilities to the search committee, including office space and manpower to begin its work.
The list of the shortlisted candidates would be submitted to the selection panel headed by the Prime Minister with the leader of Opposition and Chief Justice of India as its other members.
The selection committee would pick one of the shortlisted candidates for appointment as Lokpal.
At the outset of the hearing, the court took exception to the eight-member search committee headed by Justice Desai meeting just a day before the hearing of the matter by the top court.
Noting that the search committee was constituted in September, but had its first meeting on January 16, CJI Gogoi asked Attorney General K.K. Venugopal "Why does everything happen when the court is to hear the matter?"
