SC asks 12 states to appoint Lokayukta

The top court of India, the Supreme Court, has asked those states, which have not yet appointed the Lokayukta as required by the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of the year 2013, why haven’t they appointed the Lokayukta yet.

This relevant question has been asked by Judges Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi, to Jammu Kashmir, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Tripura, Telangana, Delhi, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal, over the petition failed by Delhi-based advocate and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.

In the petition, apart from the directives to establish the Lokayukta in the remaining states which are yet to establish it despite the fact that the bill originally came into force around four years ago, the petitioner has also requested directives from the court regarding the budget allocation and infrastructure that the states are supposed to give the Lokayukta for its smooth-functioning.

As per the petitioner’s view, some states, which has already established the Lokayukta, has deliberately weakened the system by purposefully rejecting the necessary infrastructure and budget allocation such a constitutional structure normally demands.

Anyway, the court has asked the twelve states to give a clear reply on when they can establish the Lokayuktha in their respective states.

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