The Lokayukta (also Lok Ayukta) ( ''lokāyukta'', ''"civil commissioner"'') is the Indian

Parliamentary Ombudsman Parliamentary Ombudsman ( fi, Eduskunnan oikeusasiamies, sv, Riksdagens ombudsman, is, Umboðsmaður Alþingis, da, Folketingets Ombudsmand, no, Sivilombudet) is the name of the principal ombudsman institutions in Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norw ...

, executed into power, through and for, each of the State Governments of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is brought into effect in a state, after passing the Lokayukta Act in respective state Legislature and a person of reputable background is nominated to the post. The post is created to quickly address grievances against the working integrity and efficiency of the government or its administration (public servants). Once appointed, Lokayukta cannot be dismissed or transferred by the government, and can only be removed by passing an impeachment motion by the state assembly, making it a powerful deterrent against corruption and mal-administration of the governing system. The Administrative Reform Commission for Redressal of Citizen's Grievances submitted its interim report to the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

in October,1966 with recommendations to set up the Institution of Lokayukta in each of the States to investigate complaints against administrative actions and to improve the standard of public administration in India through investigation of complaints against administrative actions, which includes complaints of corruption, favouritism and indiscipline as other existing systems to handle these issues, namely courts, departmental authorities and other avenues were not sufficient to deal with issues of corruption other malpractices by public servants and therefore, an alternative and efficient system machinery was needed. In 1968, the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

on the basis of the Administrative Reforms Commission report and its recommendation established the institution of Lokayukta on the pattern of the Ombudsman Institution and introduced a Bill which provided for appointment of Lok-Pal and his deputies at National level and included Lokayukta for the States. Though the bill passed in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

(Lower House) it could not be passed in the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

(Upper House). However, the Bill formed the basis of legislation in several States for the creation of Lokayukta and the provisions of the Lokayukta Acts varied from one State to another. As a result of this, resolutions were adopted in the 1st All India Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Conference held in

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...

, to keep a uniformity in the provisions of various Acts of the states and the same was reiterated in the All India Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Conference held in

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

on 9th and 10 October 2010. As it was resolved that uniformity in the Acts of all the States is necessary and hence it was planned that this would be feasible only by a Central Legislation. Naresh Kadyan moved public interest litigation before High Court and then contempt of court order petition for not appointing Lokayukta in Haryana. The

Administrative Reforms Commission The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) is the committee appointed by the Government of India for giving recommendations for reviewing the public administration system of India. The first ARC was established on 5 January 1966.Morarji Desai submitted a special interim report on "Problems of Redressal of Citizen's Grievances" in 1966. In this report, the ARC recommended the setting up of two special authorities designated as ' Lokpal' and 'Lokayukta' for the redressal of citizens' grievances. The Lokayukta, along with the

Income Tax Department The Income Tax Department (also referred to as IT Department or ITD) is a government agency undertaking direct tax collection of the government of India. It functions under the Department of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance. The Income Tax De ...

and the Anti Corruption Bureau, mainly helps people publicise corruption among the Politicians and Government Officials. Many acts of the LokAyukta have resulted in criminal or other consequences for those charged.

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

was the first state to introduce the institution of Lokayukta through ''The Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act in 1971''. This was followed by similar acts that were enacted by the states of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

and the union territory of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. Powers of Lokayukta in each state are different and efforts are being made to make them uniform.

Appointment

The Lokayukta is appointed by the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the State, through nomination by its

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

(in consensus with Chief justice of the State High Court,

Leaders of the Opposition Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

in the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council,

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the Legislative Assembly and Chairman of the Legislative Council). Once appointed, Lokayukta can not be dismissed nor transferred by the government, and can only be removed by passing an impeachment motion by the state assembly. Any person who is a judge or a retired Chief Justice or a retired judge of the High Court is eligible to be appointed as Lokayukta.

History

Lokayukta/Lokayog in Indian states

There are no Lokayuktas in

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

and Puducherry. Lokayukta was enacted in Tamil Nadu on 13 July 2018 and was established on 13 November 2018, the

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...

assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

passed a Lokayukta bill On 4 March 2014, the

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...

passed a Lokayukta Bill in March 2019

Role in combating corruption and maladministration

The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013, makes it compulsory for each state to appoint Lokayukta similar to Lokpal at central level for investigation into complaints of corruption against government officers in public offices. As per the Act the institution should have both Judicial and Non-Judicial members. Lokayukta investigates cases of corruption committed at state level, and once proved recommends action. It is a great check on corruption, brings about transparency in the system, makes administrative machinery citizen friendly. His functions largely depend upon jurisdiction vested in him and facilities provided for taking cognizance of citizens’ grievances promptly, dexterously and expeditiously through simple, informal mechanism devoid of technicalities. Institution of Lokpal has not as yet been created at the centre, although efforts have been made since 1959. Meanwhile, Lokayuktas/Lokpal have been established by many states through state legislations. They provide for inquiry/investigation into complaints of corruption against public servants. He protects Citizens’ Right against mal-administration, corruption, delay, inefficiency, non-transparency, abuse of position, improper conduct etc. To keep the powers of Lokayukta neutral and non-biased provision for fixed tenure is made. The procedure to be followed is informal and inexpensive; technicalities do not come in way. Complaint is supported by affidavit, making out case for inquiry. He is representative of Legislature, powerful friend of citizens to act against officials action, inaction or corruption. But not anti-administration, rather helps in humanizing relations between the public and the administration, a step forward in establishing an ‘Open Government’ securing respect for the rule of law, an educator aiming at propagating the prevention of corruption, inefficiency and mal-administration in governance. He is, therefore, a check on corruption. ;Constitutional Amendment for Effectiveness: An amendment to the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

has been proposed to implement the Lokayukta uniformly across

Indian states India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

. The proposed changes will make the institution of Lokayukta uniform across the country as a three-member body, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge or high court chief justice and comprising the state vigilance commissioner and a jurist or an eminent administrator as other members.

Reforms

In November 2012, after conclusion of the 11th ''All India Lokayukta Conference'', as many as 16 Lokayuktas sent many recommendations to the

Govt of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. The recommendations were: * Make Lokayukta the nodal agency for receiving all corruption complaints. * Accord Lokayukta jurisdiction over State-level probe agencies. * Bring bureaucrats under the ambit of the Lokayuktas. * Accord powers of search and seizure and powers to initiate contempt proceedings. * Provide Lokayukta administrative and financial

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

. * Bring Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) funded by the government under Lokayukta's jurisdiction.

Impact

The report of Retd. Justice Santosh Hegde the then incumbent Lokayukta of Karnataka (2011) resulted in the unseating of the Chief Minister of Karnataka from his position.

References

{{authority control Anti-corruption measures in India Anti-corruption agencies Ombudsman posts