TV
The Orissa High Court on Thursday sought a response from the Odisha government regarding the vacant posts of Lokayukta Chairman and members.
The Court sought to know what steps have been taken for fresh appointments, as all the posts have remained vacant since August last year. The State Government has been asked to submit an affidavit within two weeks, along with a time frame of one week to respond to the specific queries.
According to the case details, since August 2024, the positions of Chairman and members in Odisha Lokayukta have been lying vacant. This has led to complaints related to corruption remaining unresolved and stalled.
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As per Section 6 of the Lokayukta Act, there should be one Chairman and four members in the Lokayukta, and the process for appointing new members should begin three months before the term of the existing members expires. However, the government has allegedly not taken any such steps, as claimed by human rights activist Prabir Das, who filed the petition.
The petitioner alleged that even though the term of all members expired in August of last year, the government has remained on the back foot regarding new appointments to the posts of Chairman and members.
It has been learnt that the next hearing of the case will take place after three weeks.
"Odisha Lokayukta has been lying defunct for more than one year since August 2024. Lokayukta Chairman and members posts have been lying defunct. This has led to complaints related to corruption remaining unresolved and stalled. Due to the inactivity of the government, I filed a petition requesting the Orissa High Court to direct filling up of the vacant posts of Lokayukta Chairman and members. Hearing the petition today, the bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice MS Raman has directed the government to submit an affidavit within two weeks about the steps taken to fill up the vacant posts of Lokayukta Chairman and members," said human rights activist Prabir Das.
No comments were received from the concerned government authorities.
