Govt writes to HC Chief Justice over appointment of Lokayukta

The AAP-led Delhi government has taken the first step in appointing Lokayukta, a post which has been lying vacant since November 2013.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written a letter to Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, seeking his advice on the appointment of the Lokayukta, according to government officials.

“The process to appoint the Delhi Lokayukta under the Lokayukta Act has been initiated. A letter was written by the chief minister on July 10 to the Chief Justice, seeking his consultation on the matter,” a government official said.

The post of Lokayukta has been lying vacant for 20 months, since November 2013, when the then Lokayukta Justice Manmohan Sarin’s tenure came to an end.

The Delhi High Court in May had asked the government to file a reply on the failure to appoint a Lokayukta and had fixed the next date of hearing as July 24, i.e. Friday.

“The government has written a letter to the Chief Justice and also submitted an affidavit in court about the process being started,” sources in the government said.

According to a petition submitted in court in May, when the former Lokayukta demitted office, there were 56 pending cases.  Since then, more than 500 cases have been filed.

“We allot complaint numbers to the complainants and tell them that it will be taken up once a new Lokayukta is appointed. We process the complaints to keep them ready for the new head as and when he will be appointed,” officials in the Lokayukta office said.

Currently, the office is running on skeletal staff and only routine departmental and administrative work is taking place, they said.

The Aam Aadmi Party government had reportedly said earlier that it will repeal the Lokayukta Act and will bring its Jan Lokpal Bill in the Monsoon Session of the Delhi Assembly to set up an ombudsman to investigate corruption charges against politicians and civil servants.

However, officials have sought to clarify that a Lokayukta will be appointed regardless of the Jan Lokpal Bill being introduced.