Lokayukta

The Lokayukta (also Lok Ayukta; lokāyukta, "civil commissioner") is an Indian Parliamentary Ombudsman who may be appointed for each of the State Governments of India. The role was introduced by the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 to quickly address the working of the government or its administration (public servants). Once appointed, a Lokayukta cannot be dismissed or transferred by the government, and can only be removed if the state assembly adopts an impeachment motion.

The Lokayukta mainly publicizes corruption among politicians and government officials. Many acts of the Lokayukta have resulted in criminal or other consequences for those charged.

A Lokayukta is appointed by the Governor of the State, through nomination by its Chief Minister (in consensus with Chief justice of the State High Court, Leaders of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, and Legislative Council, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and Chairman of the Legislative Council). Once appointed, the Lokayukta cannot 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 a Lokayukta. In most states, the term of a Lokayukta is five years or until they attain 65 years of age, whichever is earlier.

In October 1966, the Administrative Reforms Commission, led by Morarji Desai, submitted an interim report to the Prime Minister. It recommended the establishment of a Lokayukta in each state to address citizens' grievances and improve public administration. At the time, existing mechanisms, such as courts and departmental authorities were considered inadequate for tackling corruption and misconduct by public officials.

Based on the recommendation, the Government of India introduced a bill in 1968 to create the institutions of the Lokayukta in the states and Lokpal at the national level, modeled after the Ombudsman Institution. Although the bill passed in the Lok Sabha, it did not pass in the Rajya Sabha. Despite this, the proposal inspired several states to enact their own Lokayukta laws, although the provisions varied widely.

Maharashtra became the first state to formally establish the institution with the Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act of 1971. This was soon followed by similar legislation in several other states (Odisha, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu) and the union territory of Delhi.

In the state of Haryana, activist Naresh Kadyan filed a public interest litigation and later a contempt of court petition due to the government's failure to appoint a Lokayukta.

However, the powers and responsibilities of the Lokayuktas still differed from state to state, prompting efforts to standardize them. To address the lack of uniformity, the 1st All India Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Conference was held in Shimla in 1986, where it was agreed that there should be consistency across states. This call for uniformity was reinforced at a subsequent conference in Bhopal in October 2010, and there were plans to achieve this through central legislation.