Suo Moto Disclosure

Updated as on 07.09.2022

Government of India

Ministry of Law & Justice

Department of Legal Affairs

LAW COMMISSION OF INDIA

INFORMATION PUBLISHED IN PURSUANCE OF SECTION 4(1)((b)-(i) to (xvii)) OF THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005

1. Particulars of its organisation, functions and duties.
   In independent India the First Law Commission was established in 1955, with the then Attorney General of India, Mr. M.C. Setalvad as its Chairman.Since then, twenty one more Law Commissions have been constituted, each with a three-year term and with certain terms of reference. The names of Chairmen who presided over these Commissions are given below:

1. The Twenty Second Law Commission has been notified with effect from 21^st February, 2020 for a term of 3 years.
2. The Powers and duties of its officers and employees

   While discharging its functions in accordance with the Terms of Reference, the Commission is presently assisted by Addl. Secretary (Addition charge), One Additional Law Officer and one Deputy Law Officer. The Secretariat staff, looking after the administrative side of the Commission’s operations, presently consists of one Deputy Secretary and three Assistant Section Officers. The stenographic assistance to the Commission and its officers is provided by officers of different levels. In addition there are Four Staff Car Drivers and Twenty One MTS.

3. The procedure followed in the decision-making process, including channel of supervision and accountability:

   The Ministry of Law & Justice makes references to the Commission from time to time on subjects relating to Law reform and judicial administration. The Supreme Court/High Courts also make references to the Commission involving in-depth examination of any legal issue or subjects. The Commission also takes up subject suo- moto under the Terms of Reference. The projects undertaken by the Commission are initiated in the Commission’s meetings which take place frequently. Priorities are discussed, topics are identified and preparatory work is assigned to each member of the Commission. Depending upon the nature and scope of the topic, different methodologies for collection of data and research are adopted keeping the scope of the proposal and reform in mind.The Law Commission has always been anxious to ensure that the widest section of people is consulted in formulating proposals for law reforms. In this process, professional bodies and academic institutions are consulted. Seminars and workshops are organized to elicit critical opinion on proposed strategies for reform. Usually a carefully prepared questionnaire is also placed on the website.Discussion at Commission meetings during this period helps not only in articulating the issues and focusing the research, but also evolving a consensus among Members of the Commission. What emerges out of this preparatory work in the Commission is usually a working paper outlining the problem and suggesting matters deserving reform. The paper is then sent to all members with a view to eliciting suggestions. Widest consultations with stakeholders are taken on priority.

   The draft Report is written either by the Member-Secretary or one of the Members or the Chairman of the Commission. It is then subjected to close scrutiny by the full Commission in meetings. Once the Report and summary are finalized, the Commission may decide to prepare a draft amendment or a new bill which may be appended to its Report. Thereafter, the final Report is forwarded to the Government.

   Since the establishment of the First Law Commission, 277 Reports on various issues have been submitted so far.

   The Reports of the Law Commission are laid in Parliament from time to time. The Ministry of Law & Justice, forward the Reports to the concerned administrative Ministries. They are cited in Courts, in academic and public discussions and are acted upon by concerned Government Ministries/Departments depending on the Government’s decisions.

4. The norms set by it for the discharge of its functions.

   The Law Commission of India functions within its terms of reference as enumerated in item No. (i) above. The modalities followed by it have also been enumerated in item No.(iii) above.In so far as the administration side of the Commission’s operations is concerned, it functions in accordance with the various Central Civil Services Rules and other Rules applicable to the Central Government employees. It is also guided by various manuals/circulars etc. issued by various Ministries/Departments of the Government of India.

5. The rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records held by it and are under its control as used by its employees for discharging its functions:In the discharge of its functions, the Law Commission of India uses for research purposes various Central and State Acts, Rules, Codes, Rules Regulations, etc. It also uses various judgements of the Supreme Court of India and of High Courts. Laws of other countries, Judgements of foreign courts and International Courts are also used. Various Reports of Commissions, Committees etc, are also considered.In so far as the administrative side of the Commission is concerned, it uses the following Rules in the discharge of its functions:-
   • Staff Car Rules
   • Medical Attendance Rules
   • CCS(CCA) Rules
   • CCS (Conduct) Rules
   • General Provident Fund Rules
   • Leave Travel Concession Rules
   • General Financial Rules
   • Delegation of Financial Power Rules
   • House Building Advance Rules
   • CCS(Revised Pay) Rules
   • Central Treasury Rules

   In addition various Manuals/Circulars etc issued by various Ministries/Departments of the Govt. of India, are also used.

6. A statement of the categories of documents that are held by it and are under its control :
   The Law Commission of India holds the following documents:-
   • Copies of Reports released by it
   • Parliament Questions related to Law Commission sent by Deptt. of Legal Affairs, Min. of Law & Justice
   • Correspondence with Ministries/Other Organisations, Departments, State Governments and letters/E-mails from individuals seeking information etc.

   The administrative side of the Commission maintains files relating to the following:

   • Appointments
   • Personal files and service book (including leave account) of its employees
   • Court related litigation files
   • Training
   • Continuation of temporary posts
   • Conferences / Seminars in India and abroad
   • Staff Cars
   • Purchase and maintenance of air-conditioners, room coolers, heaters, photo copiers, vacuum cleaners, computers, printers, UPS etc
   • Electricity and Water bills
   • CPWD complaints
   • Dry cleaning and washing
   • Engagement of casual labour
   • Circulars
   • Republic Day & Independence Day Celebration
   • Library matters
   • Purchase and distribution of stationery items
   • Purchase and distribution of uniforms
   • Maintenance of Annual Confidence Reports
   • Other Miscellaneous matters
7. The particulars of any arrangement that exists for consultation with, or representation by the members of the public in relation to the formulation of its policy or implementation thereof:
   The working papers/consultation papers outlining the problems/issues under consideration of the Law Commission of India and suggesting matters deserving reforms, are sent out for circulation among the public and interested groups like Judges of the Supreme Court, High Courts and Lower Courts, Bar Associations, State Govts’ law enforcement agencies, media persons, NGOs and all stakeholders with a view to eliciting reactions and suggestions. Professional bodies and academic institutions are involved in the consultation process. Seminars/Workshops/Conference are also organized to elicit critical opinion on proposed strategies for reform based on the Working Papers/Consultation Papers.
8. A statement of the boards, councils, committees and other bodies consisting of two or more persons constituted as its part or for the purpose of its advise, and as to whether meetings of those boards, councils, committees and other bodies are open to public, or the minutes of such meetings are accessible for public:

   The Chairman, Law Commission of India, convenes internal meetings of the Commission from time to time where the Member Secretary, Members and Law Officers of the Commission are present. Such meetings being internal in nature are not open to public.

9. A directory of officers and employee’s

   Name	Designation	Telephone Number(Office)
   Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi	Hon’ble Chairperson	24654951
   Dr. Niten Chandra	Law Secretary (Additional Charge of Member Secretary, Law Commission of India)	23384205
   Justice K.T. Sankaran	Member	24654954
   Prof. (Dr.) Anand Paliwal	Member	24654953
   Prof. D.P. Verma	Member	24654955
   Dr. (Shri) Rajiv Mani	Additional Secretary (Additional Charge of Joint Secretary & Law Officer) in Law Commission of India	24635736
   Mrs.Varsha Chandra	Addl. Law Officer	24635735,24654940
   Shri Raja Kar	Deputy Secretary	24654939
   Shri Atul Kumar Gupta	Deputy Law Officer	24616748, 24654938
   Smt. Dimple Kapoor	Principal Private Secy.	24654936
   Shri Amar Singh	Principal Private Secy.	24654953
   Smt. Suman Lata Bhatia	Principal Private Secy.	24635736
   Shri Sanjeev	Assistant Section Officer	24654936
   Shri Arun Kumar	Assistant Section Officer	24654936
   Shri Raj Tilak	Assistant Section Officer	24654936
   Vacant	Assistant Library Information Officer	23072174
   Shri Gyan Chand	Junior Secretariat Assistant	24654936
   Shri Manohar Lal	Staff Car Driver	24654936
   Shri Diwakar Prasad	Staff Car Driver	24654936
   Shri Surbir Singh Bartwal	Staff Car Driver	24654936
   Shri Kamal	Staff Car Driver	24654936
   Shri Naveen Kumar	MTS	24654936
   Shri Kalyan Singh	MTS	24654936
   Shri Ranjeet Singh	MTS	24654936
   Shri Ajay Kumar	MTS	24654936
   Shri Sher Singh	MTS	24654936
   Shri Sunil Kumar	MTS	24654936
   Shri Sanjay Kumar	MTS	24654936
   Smt Lajja Devi	MTS	24654936
   Shri Atram Singh	MTS	24654936
   Shri Yogender Kumar Baitha	MTS	24654936
   Shri Ravinder Singh	MTS	24654936
   Shri Prem Joshi	MTS	24654936
   Shri Surender Singh	MTS	24654936
   Shri Satyabir Singh	MTS	24654936
   Shri Mishri Lal Baitha	MTS	24654936
   Shri Dharam Pal Negi	MTS	24654936
   Shri Ramesh Singh	MTS	24654936
   Shri Sunny	MTS	24654936
   Shri Rahul Yadav	MTS	24654936
   Shri Kalu Ram Meena	MTS	24654936
   Shri Sahil Kumar	MTS	24654936

10. The monthly remuneration received by each of its officers and employees, indicating the system of compensation as provided in its regulation :
    The detail of scale of pay of the officers and employees of the Law Commission of India and their Basic Pay are as per CCS revised pay rules 2016 as amended from time to time. They also receive allowances and other perquisites/benefits as admissible to Central Govt. Employees. In case the Chairman/Member, Law Commission of India is not a serving Judge of the Supreme Court of India/High Court, he will be entitled to allowances and other terms and conditions as are admissible to an officer of the Central Government getting equal pay.
11. The budget allocated to each of its agency, indicating the particulars of all plans, proposed expenditures and reports on disbursement made :
    The budget allocated to the Law Commission of India for the Financial Year 2022- 23 is Rs. 7,70,00,000/-.The entire amount is “non-plan” and is meant to incur expenses on account of salary, wages, medical treatment, domestic and foreign official travel, office expenses etc. No budgetary allocation is made under “plan”, for the Commission.
12. The manner of execution of subsidy programmes, including the amounts allocated and the details of beneficiary of such programmes :

    No subsidy programmes are executed by the Law Commission of India and no amount is allocated to it for the purpose.

13. Particulars of concessions, permits or authorization granted by it :
    No concessions, permits or authorization are granted by the Law Commission of India.
14. Details in respect of the information available to or held by it, reduced in on electronic form:
    The Law Commission of India accesses information from the web-sites of its counterpart Law Reform Commissions Agencies in other countries, State Law Commissions, various Courts, Legal Research Institutions, Ministries/Departments of the Govt. of India, law reports in electronic form etc.

    The Law Commission of India has its own web-site lawcommissionofindia.nic.in which enlists all the Reports of the Commission, its various Consultation/Discussion Papers released, current reports placed on table of both Houses of Parliament and some important reports.

15. The particulars of facilities available to citizens for obtaining information, including the working hours of a library or reading room, if maintained for public use.
    The citizens can obtain information from the Law Commission of India through correspondence, accessing its web-site and through e-mail. The library of the Law Commission is not meant for public use.
16. The name, designations and other particulars of the Appellate Authority
    The particulars of the Appellate Authority designated by the Law Commission of India, is given below:

     

    Name: Smt. Varsha Chandra
    Designation: Addl. Law Officer
    Office Address: Law Commission of India
    Room No.228
    2nd Floor, B-Wing, Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan
    Market, New Delhi – 110003.
    Tel No. (Office) . 24635735, 24654940.

17. The names, designations and other particulars of the Public Grievance Officer
    The particulars of the Public Grievance Officer designated by the Law Commission of India are given below:

    Name: Smt. Varsha Chandra
    Designation: Addl. Law Officer
    Office Address: Law Commission of India
    Room No.228
    2nd Floor, B-Wing, Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market, New Delhi – 110003.
    Tel No. (Office) . 24635735, 24654940.

     

18. The names, designations and other particulars of the Public Information Officers
    The particulars of the Public Information Officer designated by the Law Commission of India are given below:

    (i). Name: Shri Atul Kumar Gupta
    Designation: Deputy Law Officer
    Office Address: Law Commission of India
    Room No. 231-E
    2nd Floor, B-Wing, Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market, New Delhi – 110003.
    Tel No. (Office) 24616748, 24654938.
    (ii). Name: Shri Raja Kar
    Designation: Deputy Secretary
    Office Address: Law Commission of India
    Room No. 231 D
    2nd Floor, B-Wing, Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market, New Delhi – 110003.
    Tel No. (Office) .24654939.

     

19. Such other information as may be prescribed:
    The Law Commission of India is engaged in research and recommends legal reforms. It is a pro-active organisation drawing upon the legal developments in India and abroad and endeavors to keep the Indian legal system always responsive to the changing socio-economic needs of a developing society.