Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose appointed first Lokpal of India

New Delhi: In a historic move, President Ram Nath Kovind appointed retired Supreme Court judge Pinaki Chandra Ghose as the first Lokpal of India or anti-corruption watchdog on Tuesday.

Likewise, Justice Dilip B. Bhosale, Justice Pradip Kumar Mohanty, Justice Abhilasha Kumari, Justice Ajay Kumar Tripathi have been appointed as the judicial members of the Lokpal.

President Kovind appointed former SSB chief Archana Ramasundaram and former Maharashtra Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, Mahender Singh and Dr. Intrajeet Prasad Gautam have been named non-judicial members of Lokpal.

Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose’ appointment as the first Lokpal of India comes five years after the Lokpal Act received the President’s nod on January 1, 2014.

A high-level selection committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, the panel’s “eminent jurist member”, had suggested Justice Ghose’ name.