NEW DELHI:Attorney General K K Venugopal told a bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi on Friday that steps for appointing Lokpal have been taken.The selection panel, comprising the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, Lok Sabha Speaker and leader of the largest opposition party, would meet on March 1 to discuss the issue.
The bench, while taking into account the submission of the Attorney General, posted the matter for hearing on March 6.The position of the government is different from what it has taken in past over the inclusion of Leader of Opposition in the meeting for the selection of Lokpal.
For years the government had said that Lokpal appointments could be made only after amending the law to replace the Leader of Opposition with the single-largest party opposition leader on the high-level selection committee.
In a separate development, the SC Collegium recommended 37 additional judges in five High Courts to be made permanent. Nine Judges will be from Allahabad HC, 10 from Rajasthan HC, five judges of Kerala HC, seven judges of Gujarat HC and six judges from Bombay HC.