Mumbai: Former Supreme Court Pinaki Chandra Ghose on Saturday took oath as India’s first Lokpal.
Prior to his elevation to the Supreme Court, he has served as Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and before that, as a Justice of the Calcutta High Court.
Know your Lokpal:
- He is son of Late Shri Justice Sambhi Chandra Ghose, former Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court. He is a fifth generation lawyer in the family of Dewan Baranasi Ghose of Jorasanko, a renowned family from the northern provinces of Kolkata.
- As the Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court, Ghose had convicted Jayalalithaa’s aide Sasikala in a corruption case.
- One of the major verdicts Ghose gave was in the Jayalalithaa disproportionate assets case. However, the judgement which was passed after the death of the former Tamil Nadu CM restored the trial court verdict in toto, i.e. all accused, including VK Sasikala were convicted.
- The most productive year of Justice Ghose was 2015, during which he gave 68 rulings.
- Ghose had ruled that practices of Jallikattu and bullock cart races to be violative of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
- He was a part of the Constitution bench that restored status quo in Arunachal Pradesh after President’s rule was imposed in the state in 2018.
- Ghose played a crucial role in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, where he was part of 3:2 majority along with then CJI H L Dattu and Justice F M I Kalifulla. The delegation that included Ghose held that the state government had no suo motu power to revoke sentences of convicts of the case.
- Ghose along with Justice R F Nariman directed the trial court to frame charges of criminal conspiracy against BJP leaders. The leaders included were LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Kalyan Singh and others involved in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
- Ghose was part of the Bench that had laid down guidelines for publication of government advertisements.
As the Lokpal of India, Ghose will have power of inquiry into allegations of corruption against sitting and former ministers and parliamentarians.
The retired judge Ghose’s name was finalised by the Selection Committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week.
Among other non-judicial members of the Lokpal are former Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) woman chief Archana Ramasundaram, ex-Maharashtra Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, Mahender Singh and Indrajeet Prasad Gautam.
