Nainital, May 15 The Uttarakhand High Court on Friday directed the state government to provide clarification on its failure to comply with previous orders regarding the appointment of a Lokayukta.
Hearing a PIL, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay questioned the government on the progress made since earlier directions were issued.
The advocate general informed the court that the appointment process was underway. He sought additional time while acknowledging that the exercise was progressing slowly.
The bench ordered the government to explain within half-an-hour the non-compliance of court orders. It further demanded the schedule for the next search committee meeting.
Following a brief adjournment, the government stated that the search committee will likely hold its first meeting in the first week of June.
The court fixed June 16 as the next date of hearing and directed the state to submit all decisions taken by the search committee by that date.
The bench expressed displeasure that no appointment occurred despite the government seeking time a year ago. It noted that the state continues to request further extensions.
Previous hearings saw the court grant a four-week extension after a committee meeting could not be held due to lack of quorum.
Earlier, the state government sought six months for the process, but the court granted only three.
The petitioner stated that the government spends nearly Rs 2 crore to Rs 3 crore annually on the institution, alleging that the state government failed to appoint a Lokayukta till date.
