Earlier, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had contended that the nine-member Lokpal could not be constituted as Parliament is still considering various amendments. Turning down the Centre’s argument to keep the Lokpal Act in suspension till the laws are amended, the court said the Act as it stands now is enforceable.

Centre has also informed the apex court that the lokpal Act was passed in 2013 Parliament is considering over 20 changes in the Lokpal law and the “judiciary cannot pass an order on how and when the amendments be passed,” and hence requested the court to refrain from passing an order.

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"The process of amendments will take time and Parliament may consider those amendments in the monsoon session,” Rohatgi had told the apex court.

Rohatgi also had submitted to the court that there was no clarity on who the ‘Leader of the opposition’ is and stated that the Lok Sabha had declined to accept Congress leader, Mallikarjun Kharge as the leader of the opposition.

Rohatgi further submitted that as per the provision, to claim the post of the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), the largest opposition party must have 10 percent of total number of MPs in the Lok Sabha, and an amendment to this effect has been pending with the parliament.

The Congress has 44 members in the Lok Sabha and therefore lacks the requisite 10 percent total of the 545 seats currently which now leads to the need off amending the Lokpal Act.

However, Shanti Bhushan, who was representing the NGO Common Cause, on whose behalf the PIL was filed, did not agree with Rohatgi and stated that the government never had “any intention to have an independent body like the Lokpal, which can investigate ministers.” Bhushan also mentioned that when a law which has been duly passed is not operative, then it is “the constitutional duty of the courts to intervene.”

Accepting the arguments of Shanti Bhushan In a major set back to Modi’s BJP government that wanted to defer Lokpal., Supreme Court today said there is no justification to put the appointment of the Lokpal on hold. The court observed the Lokpal bill is a workable piece of legislation and it is not justifiable to keep its operation pending.

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