Who is Justice AM Khanwilkar? All you need to know about the new Lokpal of India

Former Supreme Court judge Justice AM Khanwilkar has taken over the reins of anti-corruption authority Lokpal of India, almost two years after the office fell vacant in May 2022..Former Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice Pradip Kumar Mohanty had been serving as Acting Chairperson of the Lokpal following the end of the tenure of former Supreme Court judge Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose..Who is Justice Khanwilkar?.Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar was born on July 30, 1957 at Pune, Maharashtra. He graduated from Mulund College of Commerce, following which he received a degree in law from KC Law College, Mumbai University.He started his journey as a legal practitioner in 1982, appearing in civil, criminal and constitutional matters before various fora including the Bombay High Court. In 1984, he shifted his practice to the Supreme Court of India. A year later, he was appointed Standing Counsel for Maharashtra in the Supreme Court and worked as an Additional Government Advocate for the State till December 1989. .Khanwilkar was brought on the panel of the Central government in January 1990.In 1994, he was appointed as amicus curiae to assist the Supreme Court on environmental issues in the MC Mehta case concerning pollution control in respect of industries and tanneries in West Bengal..Justice Khanwilkar was appointed as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court on March 29, 2000 and confirmed as permanent judge on April 8, 2002. He served as Chief Justice of the High Courts of Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh till his elevation to the Supreme Court on May 13, 2016. He retired as a Supreme Court judge on July 29, 2022..Gujarat Riots investigation closure report - Zakia Ahsan Jafri v. State of GujaratA Bench headed by Justice Khanwilkar dismissed a plea challenging the Gujarat High Court decision to uphold the acceptance of a closure report filed by the Gujarat Special Investigation Team (SIT) over the Gulbarga Society murder of Ahsan Jafri during the 2002 Gujarat riots.It was held that the magistrate court had adequately addressed complaints raised by Jafri’s wife Zakia against the report of the SIT, which closed the investigation against the accused in the 2002 Gujarat riots case. The SIT had granted a clean chit to the 63 accused persons, including then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.“Intriguingly, the present proceedings have been pursued for last 16 years including with the audacity to question the integrity of every functionary involved in the process of exposing the devious stratagem adopted (to borrow the submission of learned counsel for the SIT), to keep the pot boiling, obviously, for ulterior design. As a matter of fact, all those involved in such abuse of process, need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with law," the Court said..Upholding consitutionality of FCRA Amendment - Noel Harper v. Union of IndiaIn this case, amendments to the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act, 2010 calling for prohibitions on foreign fund transfer and other mandates were challenged before the Supreme Court of India. Several NGOs argued that the restrictions would grossly hamper their functioning. A Bench headed by Justice Khanwilkar, however, decided to uphold the constitutional validity of the amendments and said,“Receiving foreign donation cannot be an absolute or even a vested right.”.Challenge to PMLA - Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of IndiaSeveral petitioners had argued before the apex court that the procedure adopted by the Enforcement Directorate while investigating offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was violative of the constitutional mandate. The Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice Khanwilkar upheld the constitutional validity of the provisions of the PMLA Act.However, when a review petition was filed against his judgment, the Court said that it would have a relook at two aspects - non-provision of Enforcement Case Investigation Report (ECIR) to accused and reversal of presumption of innocence..Bail under UAPA - National Investigation Agency v. Zahoor Ahmad Shah WataliIn 2019, a Bench headed by Justice Khanwilkar was hearing an appeal by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against the grant of bail to terror funding accused Zahoor Watali by the Delhi High Court.The apex court overturned the High Court verdict, saying that it had ventured into an area of examining the merits and demerits of the evidence while granting bail..Role as Lokpal.The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 paved the way for the institution of the Lokpal, a body meant to inquire and investigate into allegations of corruption against public functionaries.To aid the office of the ombudsman with experience and understanding of legal complexities, the Act provides for the appointment of a former Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court judge or an eminent person as Chairperson. Committed to address concerns and aspirations of the citizens of India for “clean governance”, the Lokpal is required to make efforts under its jurisdiction to serve the public interest and “use powers to eradicate corruption in public life.".Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.