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UPSC Prelims 2025 GS Paper 1, question 98

Topic: Polity and governance

Q98

Consider the following statements about Lokpal :

I. The power of Lokpal applies to public servants of India, but not to the Indian public servants posted outside India.

II. The Chairperson or a Member shall not be a Member of the Parliament or a Member of the Legislature of any State or Union Territory, and only the Chief Justice of India, whether incumbent or retired, has to be its Chairperson.

III. The Chairperson or a Member shall not be a person of less than forty-five years of age on the date of assuming office as the Chairperson or Member, as the case may be.

IV. Lokpal cannot inquire into the allegations of corruption against a sitting Prime Minister of India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) III onlyCorrect answer
  2. (b) II and III
  3. (c) I and IV
  4. (d) None of the above statements is correct

Solution.

Answer: (a) III only

  1. Statements I and IV are incorrect: under Section 1(2) and Section 14(1)(a) of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, the Act applies to public servants both in and outside India, and the Lokpal can inquire into corruption allegations against a sitting Prime Minister (subject to specified subject-matter exceptions and full-bench safeguards).
  2. Statement II is incorrect: under Section 3(2)(a), the Chairperson of the Lokpal need not only be a current or former Chief Justice of India; a current or former Judge of the Supreme Court or an eminent person fulfilling the statutory criteria is also eligible.
  3. Statement III is correct: the proviso to Section 3(3) of the Act explicitly stipulates that the Chairperson or a Member shall not be a person of less than forty-five years of age on the date of assuming office.