A public interest litigation (PIL) petition was filed in the Madras High Court Bench here on Tuesday seeking a direction to the State to establish a Lokayukta to deal with complaints related to corruption against public functionaries.
The petitioner, B. Stalin, an advocate, said no such body had been constituted in the State though Section 63 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, mandated the establishment of Lokayuktas in every State within one year from the date of commencement of the Act.
Pointing out that the Central enactment, which received the President’s assent on January 1, 2014, required the establishment of Lokayuktas through laws made by the State legislatures, the petitioner said no such law had been introduced so far in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
According to him, Parliament had envisaged the establishment of a body called Lokpal for the Union and Lokayuktas for the States for the effective implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and to provide for prompt and fair investigation and prosecution in corruption cases.
“Karnataka, Odisha and Gujarat had implemented the Act and established Lokayuktas,” the petitioner said, and claimed that there was undue delay in Tamil Nadu.
The case is expected to be listed for hearing before a Division Bench of Justices S. Tamilvanan and V.S. Ravi on Wednesday.
