The proximate cause which pushed government into formulating the latest version of the Lokpal bill is Anna Hazare’s anti corruption movement. Anna Hazare and his team demanded that government should pass their Jan Lokpal bill. After negotiations with Anna Hazare, government appointed a
Joint Drafting Committee (which included Anna and four members of his team) for preparing the Lokpal bill. Its draft formed the basis (though it was not wholly adopted) for the government bill.
Based on the deliberations of the Committee, and on the basis of inputs received from Chief Ministers of States and political parties, Government prepared a revised Lokpal Bill, 2011 which was introduced in the Lok Sabha in August, 2011. The Government introduced a new comprehensive Lokpal and LokayuktasBill,2011in the Lok Sabhaon 22.12.2011to establishtheinstitutionof Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayukta at the level of States along with the Constitution 116th Amendment Bill, 2011 to providefortheConstitutional statusto these bodies.
These Bills were taken up for consideration by the Lok Sabha on 27.12.2011. The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011 was passed with certain amendments whereas the Constitution 116th Amendment Bill, 2011 could not be passed with the requisite majority required for Constitutional amendments. The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 201 was taken up for discussion and passing in the Rajya Sabha on 29.12.2011. The discussion remained inconclusive.
Later parliament passed the necessary legislation ‘The Lokpal And Lokayuktas Act, 2013’. It received presidential consent on 1.1.2014 and came into force on the same day. The Act made a few changes in the earlier bill. Our discussion incorporates the changes, and gives the latest position.