Top judges to experienced bureaucrats: Meet all 8 members of India's first Lokpal appointed by President Kovind

Former Supreme Court judge Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose has been appointed as India’s first Lokpal, the national anti-corruption ombudsman. Former Chief Justices — Dilip B Bhosale, Pradip Kumar Mohanty, Abhilasha Kumari — besides sitting Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court Ajay Kumar Tripathi have been appointed as judicial members, the communique issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

Former first woman chief of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Archana Ramasundaram, ex-Maharashtra chief secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, former IRS officer Mahender Singh and Gujarat cadre ex-IAS officer Indrajeet Prasad Gautam have been appointed as non-judicial members of the body, it said.

“The above appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices,” the communique said. The appointments were recommended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led selection committee and approved by President Ram Nath Kovind.

Here is a look at the 8-member team of  the anti-corruption body.

JUDICIAL MEMBERS

Ajay Kumar Tripathi, Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court

Tripathi is the current Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court and assumed office on 7 July, 2018. Born on 12 November, 1957, he was elevated as the Additional Judge of Patna High Court on 9 October, 2006 and became a permanent judge of the High Court on 21 November, 2007.

A graduate in Economics from the Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) at the University of Delhi, Tripathi got his law degree from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University. Justice Tripathi started his law practice at Patna High Court in 1981 and before being appointed as the judge of the High Court he served as the Standing Counsel for the Union of India and the Income Tax Department and later was appointed Additional Advocate General for Bihar government.

He has been credited with significantly contributing in the setting up of Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) at Patna. He is also a member of General Council of National Law School Bengaluru.

Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale, former Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court

Justice Bhosale was appointed Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court on 30 July, 2016 and continued in office till 23 October, 2018. He has a Degree of Law from Government Law College in Mumbai and joined the Bar in June 1980. During his legal practice he was also Standing Counsel for number of educational institutions, sugar factories, District Central Co-operative Banks, Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils, various Co-operative Societies and Trusts. Justice Bhosale’s father Babasaheb Bhosale was Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He was first elevated to the judgeship as a Judge of Bombay High Court on 22 January, 2001, transferred to Karnataka High Court on 6 January, 2012 and then to High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad in December, 2014. He took charge as a senior-most judge on 8 December, 2014. He was then appointed to perform the duties of the office of the Chief Justice of High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad since May, 2015.

Chief Justice Pradip Kumar Mohanty, former Jharkhand High Court, Ranchi

Justice Mohanty was born on 10 June, 1955 in Cuttack. He hails from a renowned family of eminent jurists. His father, Late Justice Jugal Kishore Mohanty was a judge of the Orissa High Court who later became the Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court. His maternal grandfather, Late Justice Rajkishore Das was also a Judge of Orissa High Court. He graduated from the Ravenshaw College, Cuttack in the year 1974 and completed his law degree from MS Law College, Cuttack in 1978 where after he joined the Bar.

Mohanty mainly practiced in the constitutional, criminal and civil Laws. He was also the additional government advocate in the Orissa High Court and was the Special Public Prosecutor in the famous Graham Stains’ murder case. Justice Mohanty was sworn in as an Additional Judge of Orissa High Court on 7 March, 2002 and was appointed a permanent judge of the Orrisa High Court on 3 March, 2004. Justice Mohanty was appointed as acting Chief Justice of Orissa High Court for five times. He was appointed the acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Jharkhand on 7 October, 2016 and was elevated as Chief Justice of the High Court of Jharkhand on 24 March, 2017.

Justice Abhilasha Kumari, former Chief Justice, Manipur High Court

Justice Kumari, who got her degree in law from Himachal Pradesh University, joined the Bar in March 1984. She remained additional central government standing counsel from 1995 to 2002. She also held the post of additional Advocate General for Himachal Pradesh and was elevated as an Additional Judge of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh on 12 December, 2005. She was appointed a permanent judge of the High Court of Gujarat on 25 September, 2006. She was appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur on 6 February, 2018 and assumed charge as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur on 9 February, 2018.

NON-JUDICIAL MEMBERS

Dinesh Kumar Jain

An IAS officer of 1983 batch, Jain was appointed Chief Secretary of Maharashtra in April 2018. He was due to retire in January 2019, but got a three-month extension. Jain, who hails from Rajasthan, holds an MTech in Mechanical Engineering and MBA in Overseas Projects. He was on central deputation from 1995 to 2015 and served in various Central departments including agriculture, rural development and was closely associated with the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Archana Ramasundaram

A Tamil Nadu cadre IPS officer of 1980 batch, Ramasundaram is a post-graduate in Economics from the University of Rajasthan. She also worked as a lecturer before joining police service. She served as the CBI DIG, Joint Director and later as Additional Director, CBI when she was on deputation with the Centre. In June 2015, she was promoted and posted as the Director General, National Crime Records Bureau in New Delhi. On 3 February, 2016, she assumed charge as the Director-General, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and earned the distinction of being the first woman to head a paramilitary force in India. She retired in July 2018.

Mahender Singh

A retired 1981-batch Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) officer, Singh served as Member, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), which played a major role in GST implementation.

Indrajeet Prasad Gautam

Gautam was closely associated with the development of Ahmedabad and retired as Principal Secretary Urban Development in April 2013. An IAS officer of 1986-batch, he is currently the full-time Managing Director of Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. Gautam retired as principal secretary of urban development in 2013 and was a key figure behind constructing the Sabarmati River Front, Kankaria Lake Front and the Bus Rapid Transport System during his tenure.