The Delhi High Court on Thursday rejected a plea seeking to include a certain group of public functionaries under the ambit of the Delhi Lokayukta and Uplokayukta Act, 1995.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Sachin Datta said it was not for the court to direct the legislature to enact or amend a law, as sought by the petitioner.
The bench said that the 2013 Act does not say anywhere that if Delhi already has a Lokayukta, it has to be brought in consonance with it.
“All that the 2013 Act requires is that every State shall establish a Lokayukta body, appointed by a law enacted by the state legislature. In respect of Delhi, the same has been done by the Delhi Assembly by enacting the 1995 Act,” the high court said while rejecting the petition filed by NGO Help India Against Corruption.
The NGO, in its plea, had sought direction to the Delhi government to implement the provisions of Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 in the capital in “letter and spirit” so as to establish the Lokayukta for the state to deal with the complaints relating to corruption against certain public functionaries.
The plea said that in Delhi, the Delhi Lokayukta and Upalokayukta Act, 1995 was in force prior to the enactment of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 but it only covered the politicians of Delhi and does not cover employees of the Delhi government and other civic agencies.
Delhi government’s standing counsel submitted that retired Jharkhand High Court judge, Justice Harish Chandra Mishra has been appointed as Lokayukta of Delhi and he has assumed charge on March 23.
