SC raps Tamil Nadu on Lokayukta delay, seeks reply by July 10

The Lokpal and Lokayukta Acts were introduced in 2013 to try PM, Union Ministers, Central government officers involved in scams. Both the acts received President’s approval in 2014 and came into force.  However, 12 states, including Tamil Nadu, have failed to set up a Lokayukta. 

Following this, Delhi BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, filed a the PIL stating that though the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, received presidential assent on January 1, 2014, the executive has not established a Lokpal yet.

Upadhyay in his petition stated that many state governments are “deliberately weakening” the Lokayukta by not providing adequate infrastructure, sufficient budget and workforce. When the case came up for hearing on March 23 this year, a Bench, comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and R Bhanumathi, while directing the states to expedite the formation of Lokayukta, also ordered the governments to file a report on the steps taken in this regard. 

However, the Tamil Nadu government at that time defended the delay stating that the Centre was yet to introduce a legislation in this regard. The court, which was not convinced with the reply, asked if the Tamil Nadu government could not act spontaneously and ordered to appoint the Lokayukta soon.

Apart from Tamil Nadu, the court also directed Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Telangana, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi and West Bengal –to specify the reason for delay or non-appointment of Lokayukta.