MADURAI: A petition was filed at Madurai Bench of Madras High Court demanding to form Lokayukta, the anti-corruption ombudsmen body, in the state on Monday.
If the state government would have followed the directions from the parliament, it should have enacted the Lokpal and Lokayuktas act in 2014 itself. But it failed to so, claimed the petitioner in the case, which the court adjourned to Tuesday, when it would again hear the same along with another petition filed with the similar prayer.
Being one of the UN members, India should enact the appropriate law to enquire into the allegations of corruption against public servants and politicians as it has ratified the UN's 'Zero tolerance against corruption' resolution. The central government also passed the Lokpal and Lokayuktas act in 2013 after the bursts of various protests especially in Delhi.
Though the central act was published in the official gazette in January 2014, the central government was yet form the Lokayukta committee. But it formed a parliamentary committee to amend the act and it was supposed to be passed in the last parliament session. But it seems that the central government now has no intention in passing the act, said the petitioner K Gurunathan, a private employee from Tiruchy district.
In case of the state government, as per section 63 of the central act, it should have formed the committee, that too within a year since the formation of the act as directed by the parliament.
So the HC should pass an order to form the Lokayukta committee within a stipulated period, prayed the petitioner.
Hearing the plea, a division bench of Justices S Manikumar and C T Selvam posted the case to next hearing on Tuesday.