SC issues notices to 11 states for not appointing Lokayukta

The Supreme Court on Friday sought explanation from chief secretaries of 11 states in two weeks on why they have not appointed Lokayukta and Uplokayukta, despite enactment of the law five years ago.

The top court asked the chief secretaries to specify the reasons for not appointing the anti-corruption ombudsman in the respective states even after the law was enacted in 2013. A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi also asked the chief secretary of Odisha to apprise the court on whether the office of the Lokayuka/Uplokayukta in the state is functional, saying the apex court has no information about any such appointment.

It said that from the material brought on record, it appeared that Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh have not appointed any Lokpal, Lokayukta or Uplokayukta.

“The Chief Secretaries of the aforesaid 11 states shall inform the court within two weeks as to whether steps have been taken for appointment of Lokyukta/Uplokayukta and if so the stage thereof. The reasons for nonappointment of Lokayukta/Uplokayukta in the aforesaid states be also laid before the court in the aforesaid affidavit(s) to be filed by the Chief Secretaries,” the bench said.

The apex court also asked the 11 states to specify the time period by which they would appoint a Lokayukta as mandated by the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.

At the outset, the bench asked counsel Gopal Shankarnaryanan, appearing for petitioner advocate and Delhi BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, to apprise it about the states which have Lokayukta and which do not.

The apex court also asked the 11 states to specify the time period by which they would appoint a Lokayukta