President administers oath of office to Justice Ghose as India's first Lokpal chief

Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose took oath as the first Lokpal of India on Saturday in the presence of President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Pinaki Chandra Bose (Source: NHRC)

New Delhi: Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose took oath as the first Lokpal of India on Saturday in the presence of President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi were also present at the swearing-in ceremony of Justice Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose. Justice Ghose, the former Supreme Court judge was appointed as the first Lokpal or anti-corruption ombudsman of India on March 19 by the President. Former Maharashtra chief secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, ex-Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) chief Archana Ramasundaram, Mahender Singh and Indrajeet Prasad Gautam were appointed as non-judicial members of Lokpal. Justices Pradip Kumar Mohanty, Abhilasha Kumari, Dilip B Bhosale, and Ajay Kumar Tripathi were named as judicial members. On March 17, the Selection Committee, comprising PM Modi, Chief Justice Gogoi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and eminent jurist Mukul Rohatgi, finalised his name and recommended. However, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also a part of the committee, did not attend the meeting. Justice Ghose served as former judge of the Calcutta High Court and former Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. He had assumed charge as Supreme Court judge on March 8, 2013, and retired on May 27, 2017.