CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has ordered notice to the Tamil Nadu government on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to ensure that the Tamil Nadu Lokayukta Act is implemented in its true spirit and that the Lokayukta functions effectively in inquiring into complaints on corruption against public servants, including ministers and MLAs.
The first bench, comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, directed the secretaries to the Human Resources Management, Home and Public departments to file a counter-affidavit within six weeks and adjourned the hearing.
The PIL, filed by V Jeevakumar of Thanjavur, stated that the Lokayukta, an independent quasi-judicial body, was constituted under the Tamil Nadu Lokayukta Act, 2013. The act came into force on November 13, 2018, with the objective of inquiring into allegations of corruption against certain categories of public servants.
The petitioner noted that the anti-corruption body disposed of only 617 complaints between 2019 and 2024, while 137 complaints remained pending as on December 31, 2025.
Stating that the act provides for the appointment of a director and an assistant director for the inquiry wing, to be deputed from the police department in the rank of superintendent of police and deputy superintendent of police respectively, the petitioner said no officers had been appointed to these posts so far. As a result, the inquiry wing exists only on paper and is not equipped to discharge its functions effectively, he contended.
Appearing for the petitioner, advocate M Velmurugan submitted that Section 9(1) of the act provides for the appointment of a secretary to the Lokayukta in the rank of a deputy secretary to the government. However, the Tamil Nadu Lokayukta Rules, 2018, were amended through a government order issued in 2020 to relax the eligibility criteria and permit the appointment of a retired district judge as secretary.
Contending that the act does not empower the state government to amend the rules, he urged the court to declare the government order issued on July 21, 2020, amending the rules as unconstitutional, ultra vires and invalid.
