AMN / NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court has sought a detailed response from 12 states and Union Territories (UTs), for not appointing Lokayukta till now. The apex court also asked these states to specify by when they would appoint a Lokayukta. The bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi directed Chief Secretaries of these states and UTs to file an affidavit on the matter within two weeks and apprise the apex court about it.
The 12 states and UTs which have been asked to give reasons for not appointing a Lokayukta are Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi and West Bengal.
Section 63 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, states that every state shall establish a body to be known as the Lokayukta. The apex court was hearing a PIL, which sought a direction to the states to provide adequate budgetary allocation and essential infrastructure for effective functioning of Lokayuktas. The PIL said many state governments are deliberately weakening the Lokayukta by not providing adequate infrastructure, sufficient budget and workforce.