Supreme Court raps 11 states for not appointing Lokayukta

The Supreme Court on Friday sought a detailed reply from 11 states for not appointing the Lokayukta.

The top court asked the chief secretaries to specify the reasons for not appointing the anti-corruption ombudsman in their respective states even after the enactment of a law in 2013.

A bench of the top court headed by justice Ranjan Gogoi directed chief secretaries of states concerned to file an affidavit in the issue within two weeks and apprise the court about it.

"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 bench said.

The top court also asked the 11 states to specify the time period by which they would appoint a Lokayukta as mandated by the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.

The court sought a reply from the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi and West Bengal.

Though the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act was passed in 2013 and came into effect the following year, the states have failed to appoint the anti-corruption ombudsman.