U'khand HC seeks state govt's reply on non-appointment of Lokayukta

The courts directions came on a PIL which stated that the appointment of the ombudsman in the state had been delayed for years.Chief Justice R S Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma directed the state government to file a reply on the matter within the set time frame.

The Uttarakhand High Court has sought a reply from the state government within four weeks on the non-appointment of a Lokayukta. The court's directions came on a PIL which stated that the appointment of the ombudsman in the state had been delayed for years.

Chief Justice R S Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma directed the state government to file a reply on the matter within the set time frame. The absence of an anti-corruption body has given rise to corruption and corrupt people, the PIL stated. Filed by Haldwani-based social worker Ravi Shankar, the PIL stated the state government had made a stringent law in 2013 to check corruption. But the law was withdrawn in 2014 and amended, it said. The petitioner said that according to the amendment in the law, it will now be effective from the day the Lokayukta is appointed. Shankar also said in his PIL that an effective Lokayukta bill was passed by the state assembly during Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri's chief ministership but it was revoked during the Congress government in 2014 and replaced by a new Lokayukta bill which was never brought into force. The Trivendra Singh Rawat government referred the bill to a select committee of the state assembly for amendments in 2017 but it has not seen the light of day since, the PIL said.