The Orissa High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the State government asking its chief secretary and law secretary to file their counters within three weeks on the public interest litigation (PIL) writ seeking immediate appointment of Lokayukta in the State under the Odisha Lokayukta Act, 2014.
Former legislator Uma Ballav Rath of Puri district had filed the PIL craving the indulgence of the High Court towards the mala fide intention of the State government by consciously not appointing the Lokayukta under the law thereby keeping the said forum defunct for over three years now.
After preliminary hearing on the writ petition, a Division Bench of the High Court headed by Chief Justice Vineet Saran on the day issued notices to the State government, informed the petitioner advocate Mr Chinmay Mishra.
Senior advocate and former Advocate-General (A-G) Jayant Das is arguing the case on behalf of the petitioner.
‘Office defunct’
The petition says that after the death of Justice P. K. Patra, the last Lokpal of the State in January 2013, the office of the Lokpal in Odisha is defunct, thereby depriving statutory and constitutional rights of the people in exposing corrupt practices of public functionaries.
This is due to inaction of the State government in appointing the Lokayukta, the petitioner has alleged.
The petition has further urged the High Court to direct the State government to immediately publish the Odisha Lokayukta Act, 2014, in the official gazette, frame rules thereto, and establish Lokayukta as per section 3 of the Act within a fixed stipulated date.
“By not doing so, even after the Act came into force for more than three years now after the President’s assent, tantamount to ultra-vires to the principles of ‘Doctrine of Purposive Construction’,” the petition said.
