Saturday, 26 August 2023 | PNS | NAINITAL
The Uttarakhand High Court has given the State government a final opportunity to appoint the Lokayukta in the State in three months. The court also directed that till the ombudsman is appointed, the staff in the Lokayukta office should not be paid salaries from that office though the government is free to pay them by deputing them to work in other departments. The division bench of chief justice Vipin Sanghi and justice Rakesh Thapliyal issued these directions while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Gaulapar resident Ravi Shankar Joshi seeking appointment of a Lokayukta in the State.
During the hearing on Friday, the government counsel sought six months additional time for appointment of the Lokayukta and salaries to the employees from the office of the Lokayukta. The government informed the court that there are 26 employees in the Lokayukta office out of which nine are working in RERA and drawing their salaries from there. As there are 17 employees working in the Lokayukta office, the government counsel sought that an order be passed to disburse their salaries from the office of the ombudsman. The HC passed an order giving the government three months to appoint the Lokayukta and also ordered that the salaries of the employees there will not be paid from that office till the appointment of the ombudsman.
According to the case details, the PIL states that the State government has not yet appointed a Lokayukta though Rs two to three crore is spent annually in the name of the institution.The petitioner has stated that the Lokayukta in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh is initiating strict action against corruption while various scams are being orchestrated in Uttarakhand. Even the comparatively small cases have to be brought to the High Court. The PIL further states that at present all the investigation agencies in Uttarakhand are under the purview of the State government with the political leadership of the State having full control over them. There is no agency at present in Uttarakhand which has the authority to register a corruption case against any gazette officer without the permission of the administration. The Vigilance department is also part of the State’s Police department which is under the control of the police headquarters, Vigilance department or the chief minister’s office. Stating that a fully transparent, independent and unbiased investigation system is important for the citizens, the petitioner has sought appointment of the Lokayukta without delay.
