Justice delayed: Kerala Lok Ayukta yet to start work

KOCHI, FEB 27: Nearly three months after the Lok Ayuktas were sworn in, the office of the State Lok Ayukta is yet to start work.Complaint...

KOCHI, FEB 27: Nearly three months after the Lok Ayuktas were sworn in, the office of the State Lok Ayukta is yet to start work.

Complaints have started flowing in from various quarters since its inception. But the lack of filing and establishment rules and other infrastructural facilities are making the registry of the complaints impossible, defeating the very spirit of the legislation, revealed sources.Nearly 30 cases filed with the Kerala Public Men8217;s Corruption Investigation amp; Inquiries Commission have also been transferred to the Lok Ayukta.The Lok Ayukta, with powers to try cases of misuse of power, corruption and any other complaints covering public servants starting with the Chief Minister, has been hamstrung by non-availability of infrastructure facilities including office, staff and accommodation for the judges.The State Government is yet to decide on where to accommodate the Lok Ayukta with two options 8211; the old secretariat building and the new legislative complex 8211; left before it.

Bystatutes, the power for framing the terms and service conditions of the Lok Ayukta and the two Upa Lok Ayuktas, their staff and its pattern, investigation units and other service conditions are with the State Government. The Lok Ayuktas can only act once the relevant rules are framed by the State Government, sources said.

Though the Lok Ayukta and the two Upa Lok Ayuktas were sworn in on December 27, all that the Government did for making it functional was to appoint Kallada Sukumaran as the special attorney. By rules, the staff pattern of the office of the State Lok Ayukta should be in the lines of the State High Court with registrar, deputy registrar, protocol officer-cum-PRO, government pleaders and other supporting staff.

Normally, the Lok Ayukta and the Upa Lok Ayuktas are appointed only after passing it into an act by the State Assembly. But the sudden fall in interest of the State Government which hurried the Lok Ayukta ordinance remains mysterious, sources pointed out. Though, the State had issueda notification making Thiruvananthapuram the headquarters of the Lok Ayukta, the Lok Ayukta and Upa Lok Ayuktas are yet to receive any official communication in this regard. The Lok Ayuktas are also totally in the dark about their service conditions. The absence of even skeletal staff for the day-to-day office functioning is also causing considerable hardship to the Lok Ayuktas. To top it all, the Lok Ayukta and the two Upa Lok Ayuktas have neither been paid their wages for the past two months nor been called upon for work, sources said.

The Lok Ayukta and Upa Lok Ayuktas are reportedly piqued by the Governmental delay in allotting the infrastructural facilities and working conditions. This delay is sufficient enough to invite the cognisance of the Lok Ayukta itself as it is mandatory for the State Government to provide all necessary facilities to the body, sources pointed out.

Meanwhile, the State Government is still sitting over a draft proposal prepared at the Government level for setting up aninvestigation network for the Lok Ayukta. According to the proposal, a central investigation unit at the headquarters should be formed with full-fledged district units throughout the State. For a timely investigation of the complaints that may come up from different parts of the State, district units should be deployed instead of forcing the central unit to probe all the cases, the proposal felt. An IG should head the central unit and the district units are to be appointed by the Lok Ayukta in consultation with the IG, the proposal said.