JPCs have a history of futility

The following is the list of JPCs moved in Parliament - with details regarding the issue dealt by the committee and its result.

First JPC
Issue: Bofors
Moved by: KC Pant (Defence Minister)
On: August 6,1987
Committee: The committee, headed by B. Shankaranand, held 50 sittings and gave its report on April 26, 1988.
Result: Opposition parties boycotted the committee on the ground that it was packed with Congress members. The JPC report was tabled in Parliament, but it was rejected by the Opposition.

Second JPC
Issue: Irregularities in Securities and Banking Transactions in the aftermath of the Harshad Mehta scandal
Moved by: Ghulam Nabi Azad
On: August 6, 1992
Committee: Headed by former Union minister and senior Congress leader Ram Niwas Mirdha
Result: The recommendations of the JPC were neither accepted in full nor implemented.

Third JPC
Issue: To probe the market scam
Moved by: Pramod Mahajan
On: April 26, 2001
Committee: Lt. Gen. Prakash Mani Tripathi (retd:) was named the chairman. The committee held 105 sittings, and gave its report on December 19, 2002.
Result: The committee recommended changes in stock market regulations. However, many of these recommendations were diluted later.

Fourth JPC
Issue: To look into pesticide residues in soft drinks, fruit juice and other beverages and to set safety standards.
Moved by: Sushma Swaraj
On: 22 August 2003
Committee: The committee, headed by NCP chief Sharad Pawar, held 17 sittings and submitted its report to Parliament on February 4, 2004.
Result: The report confirmed that soft drinks did have pesticide residues and recommended stringent norms for drinking water.

Fifth JPC
Issue: To look into irregularities in 2G spectrum allocation
Moved by: Kapil Sibal
On: 01, March 2011
Committee: The committee headed by P. C. Chacko constitutes 30 members.
Status: Probe under way