Sonal Mehlawat Appointed Director, Lokpal of India, Under Central Staffing Scheme

Sonal Mehlawat has been appointed Director in the Lokpal of India, Delhi, under the Department of Personnel and Training's Central Staffing Scheme, for a tenure of five years. The Lokpal is India's apex anti-corruption ombudsman institution, with the legal authority to receive and inquire into complaints of corruption against public servants, including the Prime Minister, Union Ministers and Members of Parliament, under specified conditions. A Director-level posting at the institution involves administrative and case-processing work supporting the Lokpal's inquiry and investigation wings. Mehlawat is a 2011-batch officer of the Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS), a service responsible for financial control and audit functions within the Ministry of Defence. Officers from IDAS periodically move into general administrative or oversight postings at the Centre through the Central Staffing Scheme, drawing on their background in financial scrutiny and audit. The Lokpal has, since its establishment, built out its administrative machinery gradually, and staffing appointments such as this one add to its secretariat strength as the institution continues to process complaints referred to it under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act. A five-year tenure under the Central Staffing Scheme is a standard term for Director-level Central postings, subject to the officer's parent cadre relieving them for the full period. The appointment takes effect for five years under the Central Staffing Scheme, according to the order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.