The Supreme Court sought explanation from chief secretaries of 11 states in two weeks on why they have not appointed Lokayukta and Uplokayukta as well as to specify the reasons for not appointing the anti-corruption ombudsman despite enactment of the law five years ago.
A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi asked the chief secretary of Odisha to apprise the court on whether the office of the Lokayuka/Uplokayukta in the State is functional stating that the apex court has no information about the any such appointment.
It further stated 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 bench asserted, “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 non appointment 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 apex court also asked the 11 states to specify the time period by which they would appoint a Lokayukta.
The bench further asked counsel Gopal Shankarnaryanan to apprise it about the states which have Lokayukta and which do not.
“We want the exact figure. This is not the answer we expect from a counsel in a case of such a magnitude,” the bench said and posted the matter for further hearing on April 12.
