Justice Pinaki Ghose takes oath as the first Lokpal of India

Justice Ghose takes oath in the presence of the President. Pic/ANI

Justice Pinaki Ghose on Saturday took oath as the first Lokpal of India - the national anti-corruption ombudsman. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi were present on the occasion. The former Supreme Court judge's appointment comes five years after the Lokpal Act received the President's nod on January 1, 2014.

A high-level selection committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, the panel's "eminent jurist member", cleared Justice Ghose's name at its meeting on Friday.

Justice Ghose was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court in March 2013 and retired in May 2017. Before being appointed as Lokpal, he was a member of the National Human Rights Commission.

Former Chief Justices of high courts - Justices Dilip B Bhosale, Pradip Kumar Mohanty, Abhilasha Kumari - besides sitting Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court Ajay Kumar Tripathi were appointed as judicial members in the Lokpal.

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