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Maharashtra Lokayukta

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Maharashtra Lokayukta
Agency overview
Formed1971[1]
Employees85[2]
Annual budget₹3.5 crore (US$420,000)[2]
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agencyIndia
Operations jurisdictionIndia
Constituting instrument
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersNew Administrative Building, 1st Floor, Madam Kama Marg, Opposite Mantralaya, Mumbai, India[3]
Agency executive
Website
https://lokayukta.maharashtra.gov.in

The State of Maharashtra is the first and pioneer State in India to introduce the concept of Lokayukta by enacting the Maharashtra Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act, 1971 in view of the recommendations made by the Administrative Reforms Commission headed by Late Shri Morarji Desai in 1966. The Maharashtra Lokayukta is an apex statutory functionary in the State of Maharashtra, independent of the governing political and public administration, created to address the grievances of the people against the Govt. of Maharashtra and its administration. Lokayukta, the Indian equivalent of the Parliamentary Ombudsman was first established in the State of Maharashtra in 1972. It was established through The Maharashtra Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act, 1971. (Although, Odisha was the first state to pass the act in 1970, it was implemented only in 1983 when it nominated its first lokayukta).[5][1] [6][7][8]

The Governor appoints the Lokayukta after due consultations with Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Upa-Lokayukta is appointed after consultation with the Lokayukta. Once appointed, Lokayuka or Upa-Lokayukta can remain in office for a term of five years.[1]

Oath or affirmation

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I, <name>, having been appointed Lokayuka (or Upa-Lokayukta) do swear in the name of God (or solemnly affirm) that I will bear faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my ability, knowledge and judgment perform the duties of my office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.

— First Schedule, The Maharashtra Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act, 1971

Appointment and tenure

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Following is the list of Lokayuktas for Maharashtra:[9]

Index Name Holding charge from Holding charge to
1 S. P. Kotwal 25 October 1972  24 October 1977
2 L. M. Nadkarni 25 October 1977 1 January 1978
3 A. R. Shimpi 2 January 1978 25 January 1979
4 S. V. Bhave 26 January 1979 5 September 1979
5 N. D. Kamath 6 September 1979 to be updated

V. M. Kanade appointed as Lokayukta in 2021

Removal

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Lokayuka or Upa-Lokayukta can be removed from his office through the process of impeachment. The removal can only be on the grounds of misbehavior or incapacity and no other grounds. The procedure for removal is as per Article 311 of Constitution of India.[1]

Notable cases

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  • In May 2021, state governor had referred to Lokayukta of the alleged wrong practices followed in eticketing tenders of MSRTC for investigation and appropriate action.[11]
  • The institution received around 23,718 complaints for investigation from January'2015 to June'2019.[12]

Powers

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Any citizen can make his/her complaints of corruption directly to the Lokayukta against any government official or elected representative. Lokayukta's power varies from State to State. In some States, the Lokayukta inquires into allegations against public functionaries including Chief Minister, Ministers and MLAs. While some has the power to investigate into civil servants/bureaucrats, judiciary and police.[citation needed]

In year 2019, Maharashtra Government brought the Chief Minister's office under the purview of this institution.[13]

The state also introduced online complaint facility service for the public.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Maharashtra Lokayukta Act" (PDF). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Toothless Watch Dogs - Image file". India Today. 11 February 2012. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  3. ^ "punedistrict.com - Vigilance". punedistrict.com. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  4. ^ "Lokayukta Maharashtra". lokayukta.maharashtra.gov.in. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Maharashtra Lokayukta Act English and Marathi". lokayukta.maharashtra.gov.in. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Lokayukta a 'paper tiger' in Anna's home state". The Times of India. 18 August 2011. Archived from the original on 21 October 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  7. ^ "Lokayukta Maharashtra". lokayukta.maharashtra.gov.in. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Lokayukta". INSIGHTSIAS. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  9. ^ Gupta, Balram K. (1984). "A Balance-Sheet of State Lokayuktas". Journal of the Indian Law Institute. 26 (1/2): 122–144. JSTOR 43950890.
  10. ^ Lewis, Clara (22 April 2021). "Mumbai: Lokayukta seeks report on plaint against Anil Parab | Mumbai News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  11. ^ Sen, Somit (27 May 2021). "Maharashtra governor forwards 'MSRTC scam' letter to Lokayukta | Mumbai News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  12. ^ Deshpande, Alok (26 December 2019). "Lokayukta gets 23,718 complaints in five years, recommends action in 364". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Maharashtra govt brings CMO under Lokayukta". Deccan Chronicle. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Only four states have appointed judicial, non-judicial members of Lokayukta, says report". The Economic Times. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
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