Justice AM Khanwilkar, former Supreme Court judge, is poised to become India’s next Lokpal following deliberations by a high-level committee, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Former Attorney General of India KK Venugopal was also part of the meeting to finalize the appointment of the new Lokpal. The Lokpal’s role involves investigating corruption allegations against public officials as per the Lokpal Act.
Currently, Justice Pradip Kumar Mohanty, former Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court, serves as the acting Lokpal, having been appointed a judicial member in 2019 and Acting Chairperson since May 2022.
In a separate meeting, attended by Home Minister Amit Shah besides Mr. Modi and Mr. Chowdhury, the committee discussed filling a vacancy in the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). AS Rajeev, Managing Director of Bank of Maharashtra, was selected, though Mr. Chowdhury registered a dissent note, having proposed Atanu Das, a former banker, for the CVC position.
