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Why delay in J&K, 11 other states? asks SC

Kashmir Times. Dated: 3/24/2018 12:16:14 AM

NEW DELHI, Mar 23 (Agencies): The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up chief secretaries of 12 states demanding clarification on why a Lokayukta has not yet been put in place.
The states asked to give reasons were Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi and West Bengal. The apex court further asked the secretary of Odisha to give the status of the Lokayukta’s implementation in the state, maintaining that the court has no information whether Odisha has an anti-corruption ombudsman or not.
A two-judge bench comprising of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R Banumathi gave stern tell off to the secretaries for the lack of progress in implementing the Lokayukta in their respective states. The judges ordered the state representatives to provide a specific time to the court by which the Lokayukta would be appointed.
The Supreme Court was hearing a PIL, which was filed by BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, seeking adequate budgetary allocation by the states and basic infrastructure for the smooth functioning of Lokayuktas. In his PIL, Ashwini claimed that the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, received a nod of the President on January 1, 2014 and came into effect from January 16, 2014 but the executive has not established a Lokpal yet.
The Lokayukta is an anti-corruption ombudsman organisation in the Indian states which, if appointed, cannot be transferred or dismissed by the government. It mainly, along with Income Tax Department and Anti-Corruption Bureau, helps whistleblowers who publicise corruption in public offices and government sector.