Retired Supreme Court judge Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose is said to be in active consideration for appointment as the country’s first Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman, officials said. There was no official announcement of his appointment by the government.

Justice Ghose, 66, retired as Supreme Court judge in May 2017. He has been a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) since June 29, 2017. His name for the post is understood to have been in active consideration by the Lokpal selection panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The SC had on January 17 set up a February-end deadline for the Lokpal search committee to send a panel of names who could be considered for the appointment as its chairman and members. A person who is or has been the Chief Justice of India or an SC judge is eligible for appointment as Lokpal.

The law, which envisages appointment of a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states to look into cases of corruption against certain categories of public servants, was passed in 2013.

According to rules, there is provision for a chairperson and a maximum of eight members in the Lokpal panel. Of these, four need to be judicial members. Not less than 50 per cent of the members of the Lokpal panel shall be from among persons belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, minorities and women.

Upon selection, the chairperson and members shall hold office for a term of five years or till they attain 70 years of age. The salary and allowances of the chairman will be same as that of the Chief Justice of India. The members will be paid salary and allowances same as that of a judge of the apex court.

The Lokpal selection committee is headed by the prime minister and has as its members the Lok Sabha Speaker, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Chief Justice of India or a judge of the apex court nominated by him, and an eminent jurist who could be nominated by the president or any other member.

President Ram Nath Kovind had nominated former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi as “eminent jurist” as the member of the panel against the vacancy arising following the death of senior advocate P.P. Rao. Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge had been invited in the past meetings of the selection panel as a “special invitee”. However, he had been refusing to attend the meeting since February last year arguing that there was no provision for a special invitee to attend such a meet. In a recent letter to Modi, he alleged that the government has not made any attempt to amend the relevant provisions of the Lokpal Act to include the leader of the single largest party in the Opposition as a member of the selection panel. There is no leader of Opposition in the current Lok Sabha.