By Arun Pratap Singh
Nainital, 10 Mar: Uttarakhand High Court today heard a petition regarding the non-appointment of the Lok Ayukta in Uttarakhand. During the hearing, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, representing the state government, submitted an affidavit in compliance with the court’s previous order. The affidavit states that the government has constituted a search committee for the Lok Ayukta’s appointment, and a meeting of this committee was also held on 22 February last month.
The Chief Secretary assured the court that the state government is fully adhering to the provisions of the Lok Ayukta Act. However, the division bench, comprising Chief Justice Narender G and Justice Ashish Naithani, directed the government to provide a status update at the next hearing, scheduled for four weeks later.
It may be recalled that a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by Ravi Shankar Joshi, a resident of Gaulapar, Haldwani, wherein he had argued that despite the absence of a Lok Ayukta, the state government continues to spend Rs 2 to 3 crores annually to run the office of Lok Ayukta, there has not been a Lok Ayukta for long.
The PIL had further highlighted that while states like Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have active Lok Ayuktas taking strict action against corruption, in Uttarakhand, even minor corruption cases reach the High Court as there is no Lok Ayukta in place since long.
The petition also raised the concern that all state investigative agencies operate under government control, leaving no independent body with the authority to register corruption cases against gazetted officers without prior government approval. The Vigilance Department, which is projected as an independent investigative body, also operates under the Police Headquarters and the Chief Minister’s Office, further raising questions about impartiality.
It may be recalled that despite a strong directive from the High Court in this regard, the government has neither appointed a Lok Ayukta nor fully complied with the court’s order. The next hearing on the matter is set for four weeks later.
It may be further recalled that the institution of the Lok Ayukta in Uttarakhand was established in 2002 under the state’s first elected government led by ND Tiwari. Since then, only two Lok Ayuktas have held office. They are Justice H.S.A. Raza (2002) who was the first Lok Ayukta and Justice MM Ghildiyal (appointed on 2008 and retired in 2013). However, since 2013, no Lok Ayukta has been appointed in Uttarakhand. Despite efforts to introduce a stronger Lok Ayukta, the process has remained stalled for over 12 years under various pretexts.
