India News | U'khand HC Seeks Reply from Govt on Delay in Appointment of Lokayukta

Nainital, Feb 11 (PTI) The Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to file an affidavit explaining the delay in the appointment of a Lokayukta despite the anti-corruption institution being already in existence.

Hearing a PIL, a division bench of Chief Justice Guhanathan Narendar and Justice Ashish Naithani asked the chief secretary to file an affidavit in the court stating what was causing the delay.

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The high court's direction came after Chief Standing Counsel Chandrashekhar Rawat sought more time for the appointment of the Lokayukta, saying that a committee headed by the chief minister has already been constituted for the purpose.

Golapar resident Ravi Shankar Joshi, who is the petitioner in the case, says in the PIL that the state government has not yet appointed the Lokayukta even though a substantial amount of Rs 2 to 3 crore are being spent each year to meet the expenses of the anti-corruption institution.

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It was also said in the PIL that strict action has been taken in states like Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh by the Lokayukta against corruption.

However, due to the absence of a Lokayukta, Uttarakhand is struggling with corruption, it said.

It also said that every small matter is coming before the high court due to the absence of a Lokayukta, thereby adding to the pendency of cases.

All investigation agencies of the state are under the government's control at present and being influenced politically, the petition said.

No investigation agency has the right to file a case against a gazetted officer. Even the vigilance department is part of the state police, which is in control of the chief minister's office, it said.

The petitioner's counsel argued that the high court had sought a report from the state government on the appointment of the Lokayukta earlier too. However, the report has not yet been filed even though a contempt petition has been filed before the high court against the chief secretary for not following the directions of the previous order, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)